


War and Mander

by duckydotducky



Category: Undertale (Video Game)
Genre: Abuse, Alternate Universe - Bittybones (Undertale), Angst and Hurt/Comfort, Disabled Character, Fluff and Angst, Gen, Genderfluid Character, Past Abuse, Reader Is Not Frisk (Undertale), Reader-Insert, Underfell Papyrus (Undertale), Underfell Sans (Undertale), Violence
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-02-09
Updated: 2020-12-05
Packaged: 2021-02-28 04:42:14
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 21
Words: 48,653
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22628056
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/duckydotducky/pseuds/duckydotducky
Summary: After finding some bitties on the side of the road, you are never the same. It takes a lot of healing but maybe it is all worth it.
Relationships: Papyrus & Sans (Undertale), Papyrus (Undertale) & Reader, Sans (Undertale) & Reader
Comments: 272
Kudos: 561





	1. The Beginning of The End of Your Old Life

**Author's Note:**

> Trigger warning: graphic description of violence and torture
> 
> Hello! I've been a way for a LONG time. I've also had this in the works for a long time. I started this about a month after I finished Finding Momma and just finally got back into it. I just want to thank all of you for the kudos and the comments on my last fic. I still get some every week and it is honestly why I am writing this one again. You are all amazing and I love you very much ❤️
> 
> Also, please feel free to leave any comments on corrections of spelling or words. I'm a one man crew and English is not my strong point.

You first saw them as you drove past.The flash of a metal can caught your eye, along with the movement and red. It took you a long 5 seconds to process what you saw, and you eased your car to the side of the road, glancing in the rear view mirror.

It wasn’t unusual to see things moving on this stretch of highway. Sometimes they were the local wildlife, either field mice darting quickly across the road before you could even realize what it was, or perhaps a fox or skunk, lucky enough not to be flat. Sometimes you saw cats that were pets, or strays that were sentenced to live their lives as wild, feral creatures by cruel humans. More often than not, you saw the remnants of past lives, pressed into the pathment by metal beasts that they had no chance of surviving. 

This was not any of those creatures you knew so well. It moved slow, the flashing from the aluminium moving with it. You fished around in your back seat and found a box and shook out the contents on the floor of your car. Pens, highlighters, a notebook, and a tube of lotion fell out, but you don’t even notice the mess. Sometimes you did impulsive things like this. The last time you saw something on the side of the road, it had been a couple kittens. You managed to grab both of them and comb the area for more, and then had taken them to your local no-kill shelter. That was a good day.

The autumn wind lightly tugged at your thin hoodie as you got out of the car, box in hand. You could see the tiny mass as it slowly moved towards you, not seeming to notice that you had stopped. The road was clear of other cars as it had been most of the ride up, so you walked towards the moving lump. Only when you got close could you actually make out what it was.

On the flattened soda can hunched a small skeleton, face turned down towards its lap. Tied to the can was strips of fabric, which wrapped around another skeleton. This one was smaller, and was also not looking up, but staring down at the ground as it slowly walked. You set the box down gently, and only then did the two actually notice you.

The small skeleton that was walking froze, eye sockets empty as it stared into the distance. The body was tense, and it was trembling. A low growl started from the one sitting on the can, and this one too had empty eye sockets. They were bittybones, you knew that much, but beyond that you knew squat.

You knew you had to move fast; the kitten incident had taught you that. You scooped at both of them at the same time, and gently but firmly wrapped your hands around the tiny bodies. Your right hand erupted with pain, and you swore loudly without letting go. The bigger of the two skeletons had his teeth sunk deeply into your finger, but the kittens had done that too, and that didn’t stop you then. Maybe you should learn to keep gloves in your car if you planned on doing more roadside rescues.

You gently set the smaller skeleton in the box and was ready to work on getting the biter off your hand when you heard a small wail, followed by a sob. The biting skeleton seemed to hear too, and he let go immediately, dropping out of your hand into the box with a tiny thud. You watched as the bigger one wrapped the smaller up with his entire body, as if to protect him from what horrors you would do to them. You closed the lid, and hustled to your car. 

You really had only wanted to go out today to go visit the pumpkin patch and pick apples at the same farm. Something about fall brought out your cliche side, and nothing was better than fresh pumpkin with dinner. Your plans were on hold though, as you turned around and headed back into the small city where you lived. 

Your local no-kill shelter was a nice place, with an inhouse vet that cared deeply about the health and wellbeing of the animals that ended up there. You knew that the two small skeletons would be fine. The box was quite the entire ride, and even the walk inside. You set it on the front desk.

“I um… found some bitties on the side of the road. Can you take them?” Talking wasn’t your strong suite, but you were slowly getting better. The woman at the counter gave a sad smile.

“I’m sorry sweetie, but we don’t take bitties. I know Sage Hill does, and it’s just a few miles from here,” She said, handing you a business card. You gave a quick nod and thanks, and left.

Sage Hill had a nice location and looked to be a full facility. You walked into the waiting area, and gently set the box down again. 

“I found some bitties on the side of the road and I was told to come here,” You explain awkwardly. The man stands up and opens the box, peeking inside. Both skeletons were still balled up together, and it was hard to tell that there was two in the box. The only way you knew the smaller one was still there was the small quiet sobbing that broke the silence.

The man gave a small sigh. “Look, you can leave them here, but I think you should know that we won’t be able to adopt them out and would have to put them down. They’re in pretty bad shape and we are already pretty full.”

You could feel your face going pale. You didn’t know this shelter was a kill shelter. There was no reason they had to die. Sure, they were dinged up a bit, but they were still living and breathing, and still had a chance at life. “Uh.. Is there another option?” You muttered, glancing down again. The two still hadn’t moved.

“Mountain Rock Veterinary Clinic works on bitties. I don’t know how much you want to invest in some strays, but I think they do take payments if you put money down. It’s about a 45 minute drive though,” He shrugged. “It would be a lot easier if they were cats.”

You took a deep breath and nodded. “Ok… Ok, I’ll get going then,” you said as you put the box lid back on. You could almost swear the sobbing got louder when you did, but you took the box off the counter anyway and went to your car.

The ride was long and you were tired and hungry. It was almost dusk, but you called ahead to let them know you were coming. The box had quieted down. You parked your car and picked it up gently, taking it inside.

The clinic was almost deserted except for a person paying at the front desk. They walked past you, pet carrier in hand, and the front desk worker smiled at you and gestured you to come forward. You set the box down and looked at her.

"I called earlier, about the bitties I found," you muttered. It was a long day and you officially had talked to too many people. "I don't have much money but I don't want to see them put down without a fighting chance."

"Oh yes, right this way," she stands up and walks you to an exam room. "We can talk about payments later, let's get them checked out first. Dr. Wood will be with you in just a minute." The door closed behind her on her way out. You put the box on the exam table and sit down in a chair, pulling out your phone to check your messages.

It wasn't even five minutes later until Dr. Wood came in. The sound of the door made you jump to a stand. She shook your hand and smiled softly.

"I'm Linda Wood. I understand you found some stray bitties on the side of the road?" She put on gloves and lifted the box lid. The room erupted in growls, all coming from the box.

"Yeah I uh… they're not very friendly so be careful? I think one of them is hurt," you say, shifting from foot to foot. You watch as she reaches in and pulls the larger one off of the smaller one. Immediately she has his teeth sunk into her hand, but she doesn't flinch. The bitty is the one growling and continues to do so even with a mouth full of glove and hand.

"Shhhhhh sweet heart, let me get a look at you," she coos to him gently, rotating him in the air while holding him steady. That's when you notice the legs. Red liquid oozes off of the stumps where his lower legs. There are crude bandages wrapped around the wounds, but they are completely red. One leg is longer than the other. You feel like crying, but Dr. Wood doesn't let the image phase her. She looks at his head, inspects his eyes, lifts up his shirt the best she can to look at his ribs, then finally turns to the legs. 

"Goodness little guy, these are pretty bad wounds. They must really hurt," she sets him back in the box and before he gets a chance to latch onto the second bitty, picks that one up. "Don't worry, I'll give him back in a second." She reassures the first bitty as the growling turns to snarls. 

The second bitty is limp in her hand and your heart drops. She treats him as gently as the first, rotating him slowly to get a good look at him. You notice more dried red liquid on this one, and he looks so brittle that you are afraid a light breeze would break him. She hums to herself, then puts him back in the box, next to the other bitty. He snatches the smaller one up and rolls on top of him like before, shielding him with his own body. Finally, Dr. Wood sighs.

"It's… not good," she starts, looking at you. You swallow a lump in your throat. "So first off, these two are considered 'Underfell' bitties. Those types of bitties are more aggressive and have claws and fangs. They are not the best for beginners and tend to be harder to form bonds with. I only tell you this because they are one of the most abused types of bitties out there.

"The amount of damage on both of their bodies is consistent with abuse. The larger one, a Boss type, has multiple healed scars and fresh wounds. Those legs are a huge source of infection and will have to be surgically closed. He's very weak and I don't see him making it even if we do try to clean up the wounds.

"The second one is an Edgy type. I'm surprised he's alive right now. He's had his claws and fangs filed down, a common way for people to deal with the biting. It is considered abuse and is very painful for them. With how much damage is done on his hands and feet, we will have to amputate the first joint on some of his digits, and the rest need to be surgically closed. He won't make it through the surgery, I'm sure of it." She pauses and looks at you. "I won't risk surgery on the Edgy until he regains some of his strength, if he ever does. I can try on the Boss but it's not a good prognosis. Or I can put them down."

You glance down at the box, the growling still coming from the Boss's mouth. "Can… can I have a few minutes to decide?" You ask. She smiles again and nods.

"Just come get me when you've decided," and with that, she's gone, the door clicking behind her. 

You don't have a lot of money but you've already spent enough time on them to be slightly invested. You keep watching, as the Boss cradles the Edgy, being careful not to squish him while still trying to completely cover him up with his body. You sigh. 

"Hey look I… I know you understand English and what I'm saying. I don't know a lot about bitties but I know that much. I just… God I dunno. It's ok if you don't want to but I was thinking maybe I could try? You know, the medical stuff, try surgery on you and see if he can get better for surgery too?" You trail off. Sometime during your talk, the growling faded, and now you watch as very slowly, the Boss's head turns to you. For the first time, his eyes show a tiny prick of red and you realize he's looking straight at you. Your mind is made up, and you leave the room. 

Twenty minutes later, you're back on the road, pens and highlighters rolling around your back seat. You're crying, but you keep driving. It's now dark and you're not hungry anymore. You just want to go home.


	2. Phone Calls and Voicemails

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Shout out to releasing chapters late at night because that's how my sleep schedule is now. Also please feel free to point out errors. I can only do so much proof reading.

You receive a phone call during work. Your work doesn't let you have cellphones on during your shift so you don't see it until the end of your shift, about 5 hours later. Luckily there is a voicemail. You push the button and listen.

"Hello, this is Linda Wood. I'm calling about the bitties you dropped off. We did the surgery on the Boss bitty. He had a hard time waking up but did eventually get there. He's not out of the woods but he's doing better than when you dropped him off. The Edgy bitty has still not woken up, but we are proceeding with the treatment as we discussed. If he improves, we will do his surgery in a few days. Call me back if you have any questions. Have a good day," and with that, the voicemail was over. You sigh and get in your car to drive home.

You would visit them, but they are in the next town over and you needed to save as much gas money as possible for the bills that are now piling up. You didn't even know why you were trying. They weren't _yours_ and there was no way you could take them in. The apartment you were living in did allow pets, but you would have to put down a deposit which you couldn't afford. You resign yourself to receiving voicemail updates and pretend it's enough. 

By Wednesday, Linda says the Edgy is strong enough to have a chance in surgery. She says she wishes she could wait longer, but she doesn't want to risk infection. The surgery will be done on Thursday.

Thursday's voicemail was about the surgery. It didn't go as well as Linda would have liked. She had to amputate two joints on his left hand, and four on his right, one down to the first joint. She had to pull all of his canines and another tooth next to one of them. He lost 3 more joints on his feet. She ended the voicemail by mentioning the Boss bitty was recovering well. 

Friday's message was similar to the ones during the previous days. Little gains were made, little problems cropped up. The Edgy was spending more time awake but wouldn't eat on his own.

On Saturday, you woke up early and packed supplies for a day trip. You got in your car and headed to the town over. Your heart thudded harder as you got closer to the clinic. You were too invested now. You walk into the clinic and check in. A few minutes later, Linda comes out and greets you.

“Come on into the back. They seem to be doing pretty good and I was wondering if you would like to take them home today,” She says as you follow her into the back of the clinic. It is a short walk and the back is like many veterinary clinics, with a tub, table, rows of shelves and cages. You nervously wring your hands.

“I don’t know if I was planning on taking them home. I’m not exactly equipped to deal with any pet, let alone two bitties,” you mutter. You had done research during the week and found out about the needs of bitties, especially the Fell line and you were unsure if it was something you could handle. You could barely take care of yourself on some days and the thought of having two little creatures that needed constant care concerned you.

“Oh well that’s ok,” Linda replies, leading you to a cage in the corner. Blankets were piled high in one of the corners, and a wire ran out from between the bars. She grabs some leather work gloves and slips them on. “I’m sure a rescue would take them in. Finding a home for them might be difficult, but there are some places that will try or place them in a foster home until they can be deemed good to go to a forever home. They are very antisocial right now, and that won’t help them recover any faster.”

She opened the cage, and the growling started up. “It’s feeding time, so I figured you would like to see how it is done, if only to relay it on to whoever takes them next,” she glances at you as she sticks her hand in, grabs the Edgy, receives a bite on her hand by the Boss. “Hush you, he needs food or he won’t get better.” She teasingly coos at the Boss, who lets go after a snarl.

She grabs a small paper pill cup filled with a cream colored liquid and puts it next to the Boss, then grabs a syringe. The Edgy squirms slightly in her hand, but she holds tight. “Here,” she says, gesturing you to stick out your finger. She squirts a little of the liquid on it for you, then sticks the syringe in the Edgy’s mouth. “This is the best stuff for them right now. It contains healing magic and essential vitamins and minerals they need so they can recover. They are underweight and we would like to see them gain some bone mass back, so we mixed a bit of extra calcium and vitamin D in there for them. Go ahead, give it a try.”

You stick the liquid in your mouth. It’s thick like a milkshake, and tastes like a very light white cake without frosting. Linda is slow with depressing the plunger on the syringe, giving the Edgy enough time to swallow each mouthful. He grips at the syringe and you see his hands. They aren’t wrapped and look fairly good, considering what had to happen. The Boss bitty is gulping down the mixture from the cup. Finally, the Edge pushes the syringe away, squirming when she tries to put it back in.

“Good job, that was more than you ate yesterday. You’re doing so well little one,” She says, then moves to put him back. The paper cup is chucked angrily at her chest and she laughs quietly. “I know, I know, here you go.” The Edgy is placed back in the Boss’s awaiting arms and in return, she gets another bite to the hand before she pulls it back and closes the cage.

“Really, they are ready to go home or wherever they are going to end up today. There’s not much more that we can do medically. They need rehabilitation and to form a bond to finish healing,” She is interrupted by one of her nurses letting her know an appointment was waiting in an exam room. “Go ahead and stay back here for a bit. I’ll be back soon.” 

You watch as she leaves, then turn to the two in the cage. At least the Boss isn’t laying on top of the Edgy like they were in the box. The Edgy is nodding off and the Boss pulls the corner of a blanket on him. It’s…. sweet. You read that these two types didn’t get along very well, even though they were considered “sibling” breeds. Still, the way the Boss acted about the Edgy reminded you so much of an overprotective brother that you wondered if what you read was wrong.

“Hi again, it’s me,” You clear your throat, feeling stupid. “You… already knew that I’m sure… Um… You two look like you are doing good…” The Boss glares at you and shifts so his back was to you, putting the Edgy between the wall of the cage and himself. Well that went… Poorly. You sigh and try again.

“Look I just wanted to check up on you. I would like to take you in but I don’t have the right things for you and I don’t think it would be right for any of us. I’m not exactly experienced in bitty care and from what the internet was saying…” You trail off. You found many boards discussing the proper care of regular bitties, then talking about how the Fell line was an abomination and should not be owned, just put down. It took you awhile to find a forum that was pro Fell bitties, but most of the people on that board were talking about how much money they could make in bitty fighting rings. The internet was filled with horror stories about Fell bitties biting fingers off, or scratching out eyeballs.

“I can maybe find you a shelter that would give you a chance?” You offer quietly. The Boss whips his head around and snarls, and you jump back for a second from the reaction. “I umm… uhh... “ You stammer. He looks pleased with himself and turns back around. Yeah, no way in hell were you going to take them in. You walk away, out to the front. Linda is talking to a woman with a very overweight pug so you wait your turn. The woman walks away and Linda smiles at you.

“So what do you think? Would you like to take them home with you?” She says. You glance down at the desk, reading some advertisement on a local groomer. 

“I don’t think it would be the right fit. There’s no way I can take care of them and I don’t… Want anyone to get hurt.”

“Oh I’m sorry to hear that. Do you know of any local shelters that would take them in?”

“No. The two shelters I went to before I came here last week wouldn’t take them, or would put them down. Do you know of any from this area? I’m not really local…”

“Hmmmm. No, not for the Fell type. Those are usually seen as a liability issue and are deemed unadoptable. We could try a local rescue but they are filled up for the moment. I had Maria call them earlier,” She set down her clipboard. “What are you worried would happen if you took them in, even for a little bit?”

Death, destruction, infected eyeballs and missing digits. “I don’t think I would be able to provide the care they need and I wouldn’t want to hurt them. They’ve already been through so much,” It wasn’t a lie, per say, but your worries were also on the violent tendencies you read about.

“Well, we can’t keep them here. I was hoping you wanted to take them. I don’t know what I can do with them besides giving them to one of the shelters,” She sighed. “It’s such a shame, the Boss looked at least interested in seeing you again.”

And that’s how you ended up walking out of the office with a growling cat carrier and a bill in the thousands. You felt duped. Bamboozled. Tricked. This was an injustice to all potential good samaritans everywhere! But still, when you put the kennel in the front seat and buckled it in, you felt… Relieved. They were safe for now, even if they didn’t like you.


	3. Nightmares and Pain

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Trigger warning: graphic description of violence and torture
> 
> Fun fact, if you go back to Finding Momma part 5, there's a chapter note mentioning this fic. Hope you enjoy!

Sometime during the car ride, he nods off. Edgy is wedged comfortably in the back with his arms around the smaller bitty who is snoring away. He doesn’t know how long he is out, but when he wakes up, he’s _there_ again. Edgy is nowhere to be found and bile rises into his throat.

Then he hears it. The dremel tool. The begging, the pleading, the promises. The pained screams that take over the cries of “I won’t do it again, I swear”. And then after what seems to be too long, the tool stops, and the only sound that is heard is the heavy wet sobs.

He warned Edgy. He warned him over and over. At first he didn’t even care about the damn brat, as long as he kept Boss out of his shenanigans. Edgy would cuss at the man as he walked by, flipping him the bird every chance he got. The man didn’t care, just withheld food from Edgy until he “learned to talk nicer to his savior”. Edgy didn’t for a while, until he was too weak to properly eat. Boss _hated_ him, _hated_ how he had to be the one to dip bread into water and force it down his throat when he got that weak.

But soon, he started to actually form a bond with him. Considered him… a friend. Gave him advice, smacked him in the skull to prevent him from doing stupid shit. Edgy wouldn’t ever admit it, but he was scared. Boss wasn’t. The man never treated him badly. Yes, the cage the two shared was small and had only a very worn blanket in it, but it wasn’t too bad. He was always bored but he had learned not to demand for things. Not to ask for them. As far as the man was concerned, they were no different than the fish in the fish tank across the room, easier to keep even. Fish tanks needed to be cleaned, but the man didn’t ever clean their cage, or them, just tossed in food and water when he remembered. 

But then Edgy let his fear get the best of him and accidently scratched the man as he reached in to take the empty water dish. It was the beginning of the end. Boss watched as the man’s face contorted into one of anger and he grabbed Edgy, who bit down on his hand. This only angered the man more. He pulled Edgy out, and took him out of the room.

The dremel. The god damn dremel. Boss had been threatened with it once. The man took it to a chicken bone and showed him how quickly he could saw the bone in half. Boss never attempted to scratch or bite him after that, didn’t even think about it. But Edgy… Stupid, stupid, _stupid._

His thoughts are interrupted by the cage opening and Edgy’s sobbing mass hitting the back as he is tossed in. There is blood red marrow everywhere. Boss waits for the man to leave again, then runs over. 

Edgy’s claws are unevenly cut down, marrow seeping from them, leaving trails on his clothes. He contorts at strange angles, trying to escape Boss’s grasp. Boss tears strips from the cleanest part of the blanket and begins wrapping.

“You idiot, I warned you!” He whispers angrily. Edgy doesn’t respond beyond weakly trying to pull his hand away. Boss swallows hard and keeps wrapping, one hand down. “I warned you, but you never listen. I told you he would…. I…” Guilt wells up in him as tears fill his eye sockets and drip over onto his cheekbones. “I… Brother I’m so sorry….” It’s the first time he refers to Edgy as his brother. The first time he acknowledges that they share a deep bond. Edgy isn’t just his only friend, he’s his brother. And he makes a vow to himself as he wraps Edgy’s feet and wipes away the marrow from his mouth. Nobody would hurt Edgy again.

Somehow, Edgy makes it. Now Boss has to soften food in water every day, or break it into small pieces and feed them to Edgy. He doesn’t hate it anymore. He doesn’t hate Edgy, but he _loathes_ the man. Each time the man enters the room, Edgy hides under the blanket, a shivering mass of nerves and fear. Each time, Boss positions himself in front of Edgy, protecting him. Stopping him from being grabbed if the man wanted to. The man never goes for him, just replaces the water and food.

But one day, a week and a half later, the man goes to grab Edgy. Boss sees red, and clamps down with all his strength on the hand. The man yells and slams him down. The force is enough to make Boss release his bite. He’s quickly picked up by the man and taken out of the cage. He watches as Edgy peeks out with wide, fearful eyes. 

The next thing he knows, he’s set on the kitchen counter, face down. A hand holds his upper body and he hears a knife being drawn from the knife block. He steadies himself but it’s not enough and the sickening thud of the knife on the counter is only outdone by the shattering of his legs and the scream that rips from his throat. The pain is white and hot, lighting every part of his body on fire and making him wish he was put into a pot of boiling water instead. He hears his own screaming but it sounds far away, like the TV they could hear from their cage. The pain doesn’t dull, but he doesn’t care anymore and he’s swept away into the darkness that is unconsciousness.

Only to wake up with a shout and cry. He’s still in the carrier, his brother by his side. Edgy is holding him, and very quietly murmuring to him. He’s so sick with fear that he throws up, trying not to hit Edgy with his vomit. His legs hurt so bad and he goes to claw at them, only to have Edgy grab his hands and push them back to Boss’s chest.

“B-bro, shhhhh…” The murmurs continue. Edgy wipes Boss's mouth with the corner of the blanket in the carrier. Finally, the dam breaks, and Boss breaks down into sobs.

He hates how weak he is. He hates that he passed out that day, hates that he woke up with Edgy on the side of the road. Hates how hard he made Edgy cry by not waking up when they were stuffed into the pillow case, then shaken out the window when the car stopped at its destination. Hates how he made Edgy have to wrap his wounds and find supplies to make a make-shift sled for him to ride on. Hates how Edgy had to pull him along, fighting the pain of his still open cuts and gashes on his toes and the exhaustion that plagued him even before the dremel incident. But most of all he hates himself.

The car gently comes to a stop and he tries to stifle his sobs. This new human bugged the shit out of him. Who stops on the side of the road to pick up two broken bitties? Who takes them home after clearly mentioning they don’t want anything to do with them? He shoved Edgy against the carrier wall again, and pushed the blanket over him.

“Are…. Are you ok?” Even their voice was annoying. It oozed insecurity and uncertainty. He wiped at his eyes and glared at the curious face peaking in. The staring contest continued for about half a minute, before they sighed and turned the car back on.

"Ok I guess," they mumble, guiding the car back on the road. Edgy pulls the blanket off of himself and goes back to holding onto Boss. He appreciates the effort, but _he_ was supposed to be the strong one. He shifts Edgy back into a laying down position, wrapping the blanket around him the best he can. 

"Sleep brother," he whispers. Edgy gives him a small uneasy smile and grabs his hand. Boss tries not to dwell on the missing joints on his right hand, tries not to notice the shortness in all of his fingers except his pointer finger, tries not to look at the ring finger which was only a nub now. He tries not to let it bother him, but all he can hear is the dremel and the screams. His legs hurt. 

\------

You pull into your apartment complex and shut off the car. Tension built in the vehicle as you sat there, hands still on the wheel.

How were you going to do this? You couldn't just walk to your second story apartment with a pet carrier. Mrs. Shelley across the street was nosey and a snitch. You had the landlord called on you when you invited a friend over and they parked in the parking lot. You hummed, then grabbed one of your coats from the back seat.

"Hey I'm going to have to cover you guys with this coat for a little bit. I'll take it off as soon as we get inside," you peak in the kennel to check to see if they are listening. The Boss bitty just growls and covers the Edgy more. Another sigh escapes your mouth.

“Alright, well let's just do this then,” you unbuckle the kennel, cover it with your coat, and pick it up like you are carrying a pile of coats. You had a habit of leaving your jackets in the back seat so taking in a pile of clothing was not unusual. You hope it is enough. You would have to deal with the apartment rules later. 

It doesn’t take you long to climb the stairs and unlock your door. Once inside, you set down the kennel and take the coat off. No sound comes from it and you figure it is best to just leave them in there for now. You move them to the kitchen counter and go back downstairs to get the bag of items that Linda had given you.

The two hadn’t moved when you peek in later. You read Linda’s instructions on feeding and care and find out is time for another feeding. Great. You measure out the liquid into the paper cup and syringe, then slip on the leather work gloves that Linda had graciously included.

You open the door and reach in. Immediately, you feel pressure on the gloved hand as the Boss bitty bit down with all his force. You tried not to let it bother you, but even though he didn’t draw blood (yet), it still felt like your hand was stuck in a very tight binder clip. 

You grab the Edgy who squirms harder than he did with Linda. He was thrashing around, and starting to sob. Out of fear that you were hurting him, you drop him back on the soft blanket, right in the vomit. He lets out a squeal and the Boss lets go of your hand long enough to shove the Edgy under the blankets away from you, then latches on again.

It was all going to shit. You were panicking. What do you do?? You needed to get them food since they needed the nutrition, but they weren’t cooperating with you! You didn’t know how Linda did it, and your insecurities and fears about this whole situation bubbled to the surface. You didn’t want to be the reason why these two got sicker, or worse, died.

You start crying. You can’t help it. You’re not good with confrontation, and even worse when you are rejected by someone or something you are trying to help. The Boss bitty lets go of your hand again, and you pull it out quickly before he has a chance to bite down again. You close the door of the kennel and head to your bedroom to calm down.

It wasn’t _their_ fault they were on the defensive and scared. You would be too, after receiving half the injuries they did. They were just reacting how any animal would in their situation. They were scared and didn’t understand what was going on. You knew they understood english, but they didn’t understand the situation- oh. _Oh._

You feel stupid, and shame washes over you. Of course they didn’t know what was going on. Of course they were scared. Of course Linda had better luck trying to feed them. She _talked_ to them, _told_ them everything that was going to happen. You didn’t think to tell them before you reached in and manhandled them that you were only going to be feeding them.

You wiped your face with your sleeve, then head back out. You hear quiet muttering but it stops as soon as your feet hit the tile of your floor. You look in, and the Boss is wiping the Edgy down the best he can with the blanket. You feel horrible, but you are determined not to let it get the best of you.

“A-alright, I’m so sorry for everything that just happened,” You start. The Edgy freezes when you talk, but the Boss keeps wiping. “I really was only going to feed you, I promise. If you would like, I would like to try again. You need the food and…” You trail off and slip the gloves back on. “P-please let me feed you?”

Your hands were shaking as you reached in. “It’s ok, it’s ok,” you cooed as you reached for the Edgy. He flinched hard, but stayed still. Your hand erupted in pain again as you received a hard bite from the Boss, but you tried to work past it as you passed the Edgy to your other hand. “Ok, ok, I know. I’ll be fast.” The bite released and you quickly slipped the cup of liquid in and close the door.

The Edgy was shaking in your hand and he stunk, just like the rest of the kennel. You knew that one of them threw up on the ride home, but you didn’t know which. You wondered if that was normal. Maybe they got car sick. 

You keep hold on the Edgy and slip the syringe into one of the spots where his canines used to be. He shifts it so it is positioned in the front of his mouth, and holds against the tip. You start depressing the plunger slowly, like you were shown and his eyes close. It’s almost too much for you. He’s so cute that your heart flutters. 

After a short while, you hear the cup being thrown at the door of the kennel. The Edgy weakly pushes away the syringe, trying hard to stay awake. You resist the urge to smooch his round head as he looks at you with hooded eyes.

“Ok little guy. You stink,” You say quietly. His eyes open wide as he is not put back in the kennel, fear lacing his features. “Don’t worry, I’m just going to wipe you down with a warm washcloth.” You try reassuring him, but he’s squirming, trying to pull out of your hand. He then goes limp, as if he’s accepted his horrible fate.

You hear yelling from the kennel and it almost breaks your heart. They are the first words the two have said as far as you know. “Please, no, take me instead!” The Boss shouts, little fists gripping on the grated door of the kennel. He looks desperate and like he’s trying not to cry, his eyelights tiny pinpricks of light. “Please!”

“Oh, no, nobody is getting hurt, I promise, I’m just going to clean him up,” You try to reassure them, but it doesn’t work. The Boss does start crying at this point, slumping against the grate, and begging through his sobs.

“Pleasepleasepleasenothimplease,” You can barely understand the words and instead turn to run a washcloth under the warm water. The faster you get this done, the better. Edgy’s clothes are disgusting as well, but you decide today should be more about getting the majority of the vomit off of his body. You can deal with his clothes later. You wipe gently and he lets you, his eyelights gone and body limp.

It takes less than a minute to get him clean enough for your satisfaction. You wish you could clean the kennel too, but you are worried about stressing them more than they currently are, so you just turn, cleanish bitty in hand and open the door. The Boss doesn’t bite you this time, just snatches up the Edgy and smushes his head against Edgy's head. 

“Brother,” you hear him mutter and your heart drops. You thought Boss’s and Edgy’s didn’t consider each other brothers. You close the door and drape a towel over most of the kennel, blocking out the light, but leaving the door uncovered. 

For what was definitely not the first time, you questioned your choices and your abilities to take care of the two. You mutter an apology, and slink off to your room, trying to ignore the sniffling you caused.


	4. A New Safe Place

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> What's an update schedule? Anyway, sorry this chapter is way late, I cursed myself by bragging about the streak I was on and now I'm slightly suffering from writers block

You don't do helpless well. That was a phrase your mom used about herself often, and it translated to you just as well. You lay there, staring at the wall for about an hour, digesting all that happened earlier. Finally, you sit up and pull out your laptop.

There's not much about helping traumatized bitties in general, but it is still better than the non-existent information on helping traumatized Fell bitties. You read as much as you can until you have a plan. 

First thing first, the carrier had to go. You knew they weren't going to run, they were physically incapable of doing so. You set to making a proper cozy area for them. You dump out the items in a fabric storage bin and safety pin a towel to the side so it draped over front for privacy. Then you stuff it with the softest blanket you can find, along with some soft washcloths for extra fluff. 

You take the living room and put it next to the couch. The bag Linda gave you contains a heating pad that you plug in and slip under the blanket in the bin. The rest of the supplies you put away. 

You hear them shifting in the kennel and look in to find the sleepy eyes of the Boss glaring back. Really it was amazing how much he could convey with a scowl. 

"Hi, did you two have an ok nap?" You start quietly, pulling on the gloves. His face shifts for a second, betraying his nervousness with the gloves going on, then flips back to his usual pissed off look. He pushes the blanket up a bit more on the Edgy.

Unfortunately the kennel stank of a sickly sweet acidic smell, which you assume is the throw up. It has to be cleaned up and so do they. You figure better now then later, so you take a breath and open the door.

"The carrier stinks and I'm sure it's uncomfortable. I have a better place for you two to stay, no cage bars, you can come and go in it if you would like…" you reach in and he clamps down, but this time you are more than ready. You scoop up him and his brother, who flails awake and grips onto Boss like his life depended on it. "It's ok, it's a short ride."

You try to walk as gently as possible, hoping that you aren't jostling them too much. The Boss is trying his best to get through the gloves and you think he actually does, but you try not to let the growing pain bother you. You push the towel aside for a second and gently plop them on the blanket. 

"Ok you can let go now," you say. He doesn't. The pain is getting pretty bad and you resist the urge to shake him off. "Please? Oh jesusthathurts." He finally let's go and you can hear him shuffling in the box. You let down the towel and resist the urge to peek. It is supposed to be their safe area, after all and it couldn't be safe if you invited yourself in without permission.

When the glove comes off, you notice the blood dripping down the side of your hand. You still have the marks from the first meeting of the bitties and you thank whoever will listen that you can't catch things from them. You take a moment to bandage yourself up.

Back to what you were doing. You take the blanket out and throw it into the washer with some towels and start it. It takes a few minutes but the kennel gets cleaned as well, and put in the coat closet. All while you resist the urge to check up on them. You really want to wash them both, but you don't want to push them more than you already did.

You were tired now, but you didn't want to leave the two alone, so you lay down on the couch and turn on the TV. Some rerun was playing and you watched half interested under a blanket you keep on the back of the couch. It doesn't take long before you are asleep, the TV casting shadows on the room.

\------

The dremel. It was loud and the sound rattled into his skull. He couldn't hear his own voice over the dremel. And then the pain.

It was excruciating, it felt like every part of his body was being smashed into dust. He wanted to dust. It lasted too long. Each. And. Every. Claw. 

And then somehow it got worse. The man shoved his fingers into his mouth, and the dremel goes to his fangs. He can only scream, the motion of the dremel vibrating his head, making him feel like he was falling apart. He was begging his own body to give up.

But it didn't. He didn't remember how he got in the cage again or how long the torture lasted. Something grabbed him and he instinctively tried to get away. Then more pain, as where his claws once were was touched with something, the pressure almost too much to stand. All he could do was sob.

But the soft voice above him wavered and he tried to focus on it. Tried to focus on the soul next to him pushing out waves of love. It was almost too much. Something is pressed to his mouth and chin, then he's… held? He didn't understand it at first, but as he drifts off, he could swear he feels arms around him.

He had that nightmare often. It's terrifying, but not as bad as the other one he's been getting more often recently. That one chills him to his bones.

He can hear it. Over. And over. And over. The sound of a thud. The splintering of bones. The sharp scream that gets louder, and louder. Then worse, it stops. 

Tears stream down his eyes as he hides under the blanket. All he can think about is the fact that his brother is dead and it's all his fault. 

Thud, screams, silence. 

He shivers as he hears footsteps enter the room. This is it. Boss is dead and he's next. The cage opens and an item drops heavily in. The blanket starts to get red and he watches the stain creep to where he is hiding.

Thud.

It takes him a minute to gather his nerves. The feet leave the room. The stain spreads. He pulls the blanket off of himself, slowly at first, afraid of what he will see.

Screaming. Silence.

No. No, no, NO! Boss is laying there in a sea of red marrow. He doesn't move. Doesn't speak. For a moment, Edgy thinks he isn't truly there. That it's some sick joke. Then, the reality sets in.

He tries hard not to scream. Tries hard to keep his wits about him, but there's so much _red_. But still, he works through his sobs, doing what Boss had done for him a week or so before. 

He rips the blanket into strips and ties them _hard_ , the pressure hurting his own unhealed wounds. His legs… His poor legs… the breaks are uneven and sharp shards of oozing bones are all that is left. He does his best, but he can't do much more before both of them are shoved into a cloth bag.

And then he wakes up. His fist is in his mouth to stop the sound of his sobs. He was really good at not screaming when he woke up from a nightmare. Still, Boss's eye sockets open and before Edgy can try to say he's ok, he's pulled close into Boss's arms. His body relaxes as he felt Boss rub his skull and back. It was ok, they were safe… for now.

He hears the TV from outside the box the human put them in. The noise is a low drone and combined with the warmth and fluff of the bedding and the distant feeling hum of the human's soul next to them, he finds himself floating off to sleep. Surprisingly, he doesn't have another nightmare, just a dream of being next to Boss outside in the warm sun.


	5. In Morning Light

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Guess who just had their Bluetooth keyboard die finishing this chapter? Anyone got double A batteries? Anyway, enjoy, let me know if there are any issues, etc etc

You wake up the next day, stiff as hell. The TV had long been shut off by the auto timer, and the only source of light was the morning sun starting to stream into the living room. Why were you on the couch again? You didn’t remember.

Yawning, you stood up and stretched and went to make coffee. You were starving, so you started some toast and grabbed an apple to cut up. It was then that you realized why you were on the couch in the first place and you froze, nervously glancing over at the fabric storage cube.

Red eyes looked out at you from the entrance of the cube. You stared back for a few seconds before setting down the apple and knife. The only sound was the coffee maker. Then, without you doing anything, the eyes were gone. You sighed and go back to making breakfast, getting their breakfast ready while you wait for your coffee to finish.

Boss went back to his brother, scooting across the soft blanket to where he was laying in the back of the cube. Edgy scratched at his ribs in his sleep. He had been scratching since Boss woke up, possibly even before then. Boss couldn’t help but feel the pang of guilt as he saw the stiff fabric of his brother’s shirt. The vomit had long dried on his own shirt, and if the itching he was feeling was any indicator, Edgy was scratching so much because of the dried half digested magic. Stupid. He put Edgy in this position.

“Hey guys, time for breakfast,” You said, setting your breakfast on the coffee table. You turned the TV on and let it play in the background as you sat in front of the cube. The gloves went on and you grabbed the pill cup and syringe. “Going to have to invade your personal space again.”

You pulled up the towel, exposing them to the soft morning light. The Edgy was still sleeping in the back, laying in what could only be described as a nest of blanket and washcloths. You stifled a giggle and only a soft snort makes it out. The Boss bitty was staring at you again, but didn’t growl. He doesn’t even glare. You looked back at him suspiciously, then hesitated.

“How about I give him some more time to sleep?” You suggested. He was so damn cute and you were sure they probably woke up several times during the night. How could they not with what they had been through? The Boss bitty actually nodded at you slowly and you blinked in surprise. A response! That was good, right?

You smiled. “Ok. I’ll leave the towel up so you can watch TV if you’d like. Plus, maybe the natural light will help him wake up.” He scratched his chest and nodded again. Satisfied you were getting through to them, you set their food down on the table and climb on the couch where you sipped your coffee and ate your breakfast.

He knew how to play nice. He had to play nice with the man all the time. He learned very early on that he could get what he needed with compliance and luck. So when you suggested Edgy sleep longer, he didn’t hesitate to take that offer up. he hoped that he could make you do something for him if he plays nice today. He didn’t trust you, but hopefully… Hopefully he would get lucky. 

He didn’t move from his position. The TV was going on about morning local news and happenings. He didn’t pay attention to it too much, but it was a nice sound compared to the noise of the clinic. That place had too many wailing dogs. Edgy stirred in his sleep again, scratching harder against his ribs. The humans at the clinic had done a good job fixing up Edgy’s hands, but Boss still worried that he would hurt himself, so he grabbed his hands and pulled them away from his ribs. The movement woke Edgy, and he stared blearily up at Boss.

“g’mornin’” Edgy slurred. Maybe it was the blankets or the warmth of the sun and the heating pad, but Edgy was almost like before the dremel incident. Boss’s breath caught and he couldn’t help the soft smile.

“Good morning Brother,” he murmured back. Before the dremel incident, Boss hated Edgy’s lack of grammar and lax mood, but now seeing him so relaxed made his soul jump from hope. But of course, nothing lasted forever, and Edgy’s nervousness crept back in as he woke up and looked around. The easy smile fell and Edgy looked towards the entrance of the cube with suspicion. 

“w-what’s goin’ on?” He whispered, eyelights darting from Boss to the outside of the cube, then back to Boss again. Boss felt his mood drop. He knew that Edgy wouldn’t have recovered in such a little time, but it still _hurt_ to see him degrade so quickly in front of him. He was going to reply, but the human shifted and set a cup on the table. Both him and Edgy fell completely silent and waited, anxiety plastered on both their faces.

You sat back on the floor and grabbed the food for the bitties. You couldn’t tell, but it sounded like you heard speaking from the cube. The TV was too loud and the voices were too quiet for you to pick up anything that they were saying, but that was ok.

“Ok, food time,” The gloves went back on and you scoot over to be in front of the cube. “Time for the mysterious cream colored stuff- wait that sounds way wrong. Hmm,” You were in a good mood, and trying to joke, but now you just sounded like a pervert. “Soylent cream. Anyway.” You reach in, ready for the pain on your already bit up hand, but none comes. It actually catches you off guard, and you pause before scooping up the Edgy. You hand the Boss the cup, and he takes it without fighting you or growling.

No growling. No scowls. You wonder if he is feeling ok. The Edgy is shaking in your hand at least. That’s what you were expecting. You hold the syringe near his face, not wanting to exploit the holes in his grin just yet. He glances up at you for a second, then opens his mouth and waits. 

Today is going so good already! You smile and set the syringe tip in his mouth and depress the plunger, going slow like you did yesterday. He still shakes, but he focuses more on the food then you and you are more than ok with that. He sighs when the syringe is done and pulled from his mouth, and you can’t resist the urge to run one of your fingers against his skull lightly. He freezes instantly, eyelights gone.

“Hey little guy, you did so good,” you coo to him, then move him back in the cube. He stays where you set him, eyelights still gone. Whoops. You expect another bite, or the cup you gave the Boss bitty to be thrown at you, but instead he holds it up and you grab it from him as you withdraw your hand. Oh. Today was going so much better than yesterday!

You stare at the Boss, and he stares back, arms crossed. After a while, he looks away and murmurs. “We itch….”

It takes you a minute to get what he means. He doesn’t look back at you. He just stares at the corner, one little hand scratching at his collarbone. “Oh.” Is all you say at first, then it clicks. “O-Oh, oh yeah. Let me get a bowl of water for you to bathe in and some clean clothes.” So much progress! You get up, grab your dishes, and go to the kitchen.

He couldn’t believe you gave in so easily. He was expecting this to take days of being good, but he doesn’t bite you _once_ and you fold? Edgy’s eyelights come back after you leave, and he rubs at his head where you touched. 

“Are you hurt?” Boss asks quietly. Edgy just shakes his head and keeps gently rubbing. Boss still couldn’t trust you, but he also noticed how gentle you were with his brother, and he appreciated that. He wondered what you were planning.

You come back with a low sided mixing bowl filled with warm soapy water, some washcloths, and clean clothes. Linda set you up with everything you would need (at a cost) and you were grateful for that. You sat back down next to the cube. “Alright, here we are, bath time.”

The Boss bitty pokes the Edgy bitty and points at the bowl. He seems to shrink against the blanket, but after another poke he sits up and stares. It occurs to you that you have two disabled bitties and you would have to help them with this. You wouldn’t be able to wear gloves either. 

“Um…. Need help?” You offer. The Boss’s head snaps up to you and you offer a sheepish grin. “I don’t want you to hurt yourself…” He seems to consider this, then after what feels like eternity, he nods. You reach in, mind screaming you to stop. Oh lord, your poor hand was going to be a mangled mess after this.

But again, he didn’t bite. You circle the Boss with your hand first and he closes his eyes, a nervous grimace on his face. “O-ok, thanks for not destroying my flesh…” You mutter. This was awkward. “Gonna have to take your clothes off little dude.” His eyes stay closed, but he nods, so you gently pull off the generic red t-shirt and black pants. 

His legs were no longer sharp jagged edges. Linda had done very good at rounding the edges of the bones and evening the splintering. The ends were still redder than the rest of his bones, and dark red scars ran up his bones. You were told that they would not require any extra wound care and that the redness would fade with time. They looked much better than when you first saw his legs, but seeing the wounds was still jarring. A light dusting of red appears on his face, but he doesn’t do anything besides cross his arms.

“Alright, in you go,” You slide him in the water. He flails a little at first, eyes popping open, but settles down when you brace him against the edge of the bowl. You only move your hand when you are sure he is going to be safe and not slip. You reach for Edgy next, who has already shucked off his clothes. He lets you slip your hands under him and gently deposit him into the water, where he sinks in up to his nose hole and looks… content. You giggle and grab their gross clothes, then go back to the kitchen to get washing.

The water is so warm and heavenly. It’s been a very long time since he’s had a bath. Typically, he and Edgy would bathe by wetting part of the worn blanket in their cage with their drinking water, and wiping down. This… This though… He felt the warmth seep into his bones and he let out a long sigh.

Edgy moved over next to him and gave a lazy grin. “g-good boss?” He had a pile of bubbles on his head. Boss gave a quiet chuckle and nodded. This was nice. He was still on edge, still diligent for the next danger, but the warmth and comfort of the bath seemed to dull the danger. 

The human came back and he tensed. Edgy slid to cower behind him. He waited for the pain, for something, but instead the human dipped a washcloth in the bowl and held out the corner for him to grab. “I’ll hold the majority so you don’t have to fight to scrub, cool?” That was… Unexpected.

This human pissed him off more than anything. The man wasn’t his first owner. He had an owner like this human before, who treated him kindly, but when his personality reared its head and he started demanding for things and stopped acting like he had at the adoption center, she got rid of him. The man was her cousin and said he could train Boss for her.

Still, there was no reason to waste opportunity, especially since he didn’t know when he would get to scrub himself again. He took the corner and rubbed it against his bones, hyper aware of the human sitting there next to the bowl. Edgy let out a very quiet whimper, cowering next to him.

He wished Edgy wasn’t so scared. He wished he never met him, wished the man only kept him and didn’t go get another bitty. He was sure Edgy wouldn’t have lost who he was if the man didn’t take him in.

Boss didn’t know Edgy’s past. He never told him, and Boss never asked. The man went on about how he “saved” Edgy, but Boss was sure that had to be a lie. Plus, saving someone didn’t lead to their inevitable pain and maiming. 

That brought his mind back to you. You were trying to save them. That meant you wanted something. He wouldn’t let you hurt Edgy. He pulled more washcloth from you and worked on wiping down Edgy, keeping you in his peripheral vision. 

You watch the Boss bitty clean himself, then the Edgy. You try not to stare, especially since they are technically naked, but they're so small and delicate that you can't help but look. How could someone ever hurt something so tiny? If you didn't know any better, you would assume the thin spots on their bones were normal, but you've seen enough pictures to know what they should look like. 

It _pissed_ you off. You wanted to find the person who did this to them and… Well, murder was not off the table. People who did this to defenseless creatures were not human. Even if these two never warmed up to you, you would still kill for them. You couldn't help it.

You hear a slight cough and blink, looking over to the Boss bitty. He doesn't look at you, but the dish cloth is in the water and the Edgy looks ready to pass out. You bite back a laugh and grab one of the dry dish clothes. "Ready to get out?" The only response is a nod from the Boss bitty.

You are concerned with how quiet they are and how little the Boss bitty is telling you what to do. From what you read, his type had a very strong personality. You watched Youtube videos of Boss bitties demanding their humans to do things. But this one’s silence and unwillingness to even just _ask_ bothered you.

You reach in and take the Edgy out first. His head snaps up and he blinks a few times, but doesn’t shake. You wrap him in the dry wash cloth and gently pat at him to dry him the best you can without handling him too much. You set him on the ground and put his clothes next to him, then reach back in the water and pull out the Boss. He lets you dry him off, but struggles a bit when you try and dress him, so you set him down too. It really does amaze you how quickly he figures out how to dress himself, and he’s dressed before the Edgy is. Maybe it has something to do with the Edgy nodding off. 

You take the bowl of bath water to the kitchen and set it on the counter. When you come back, the Edgy is inside the cube, and the Boss is making his way towards it, scooting on his bottom. You don't even think and just scoop him up. 

"Here, let me help you out there-AHHH!" Pain blossoms on your hand as the Boss bites down. Yet again, you force yourself to not drop him. His eyelights go out, and his jaw releases in what seems to be surprise. He's still, he doesn't even look like he's breathing. You set him in the cube next to the Edgy who is staring at you with wide, fearful eyes. You grimace and cradle your hand.

"Ok, I'm going to go clean my hand, you two can come and go but I'm going to put down the towel," you mutter, pulling the towel down to cover the entrance. You can't help but be absolutely frustrated. Everything was going so well too...


	6. Frustration

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Please note that updates will be very slow. I injured my hands at work so it takes a lot to type using a keyboard and my phone touch screen keyboard is one of the few ways I can type, but it is frustrating and riddled with errors. I also am not proof reading these very well because I want to get them up. I know in this time a lot of people will have time on their hands and I want to do my best to help you guys past the time. Everyone please stay safe and wash your hands.

You hate feeling so frustrated. It takes a lot to get you this way, but once you are there it's hard to let go. You go to your room and sit on your bed, fuming. The situation you’ve been put in sucks and it frustrates you that you were thrust into it. You don’t know how to take care of bitties, let alone bitties who have gone through torture. You’re mostly frustrated at yourself for getting frustrated. Out of everyone in this situation, you were the one that needed to keep your cool the most.

You get up and decide it is time to do chores. Chores will help you calm down a bit and give you less time to worry and hover. Plus, you needed clothes for work tomorrow. You strip your bed and grab your laundry basket, dragging them into the hall where your washer and dryer were. Once laundry is started, you get to work cleaning your small apartment.

It doesn’t take long, maybe a few hours, and you skip vacuuming because you don’t want to startle the bitties anymore then you have to. Apartment smelling fresh, dishes going, and laundry moving, you finally sit down on the couch. You browse the TV, trying to find something to keep your mind off of your small charges. You wanted to check up on them, to hold them close and tell them they were safe, to see them smile, but you knew that would be too much. So instead, you just watch TV and wait for feeding time.

\-----

He knew he fucked up. He had been so good all morning and blew it. If he wasn’t so easy to startle, he wouldn’t have… But that didn’t matter now. He probably was going to get punished. 

The footsteps walked around the room and in and out seemingly at random. Machines ran. Water poured into things, and sprays went off. He didn’t know what this human had in store for him, but he waited, too stiff with fear to move.

Why did he have to get startled so easily?? Why did he have to bite? He doomed himself and his brother. Maybe they would just go without food tonight. Hopefully not worse.

Edgy kept trying to get him to lay down, but he wouldn’t. He just kept sitting where he was set, eye sockets squeezed shut, waiting. Finally, Edgy gave up trying, and instead curled up next to Boss, one of his hands on Boss’s arm. He was asleep within minutes.

Edgy had been sleeping a lot more lately, and it was slightly concerning to Boss. He couldn’t help but be worried that Edgy wouldn’t wake up. Still, it did help relax him a bit to see Edgy so relaxed, all fear gone from his face. The rise and fall of Edgy’s chest, coupled with his snoring lulled Boss into sleep. He couldn’t help it, tried to resist the pull, but eventually he was asleep as well, sitting up against the wall of the box.

\------

Feeding time brought back all your worries, hammering your concerns and fears back into your head. You had to work tomorrow, how was that going to go? What if they got hurt while you were at work? What if the apartment burnt down? What if someone broke in and stole them?

You took a breath, and measured out the liquid into two pill cups. Linda wanted the Edgy eating on his own as soon as possible, so you were going to try tonight. You had a syringe on you just in case it didn’t work out.

“Hey guys, meal time,” You say gently, hoping not to scare them as you sit down and pull up the towel. The Edgy is staring at you this time, with the Boss asleep in a sitting position. His eyes are slightly wide with fear, but then he yawns and doesn’t seem as afraid. Maybe you just startled him a bit. You feel bad for waking them, but they need to eat. 

“Think you can wake him up for me?” The Edgy stares for a second, then gently shakes at the Boss’s arm. He wakes with a start, jerking his head up to look at the Edgy. It’s so adorable you almost die inside.

“A-ah, I didn’t mean to fall asleep…” He mutters to the Edgy, who gives a small smile in return. The Boss’s face twists with concern. “Is something wrong brother?” He reaches out and touches the side of the Edgy’s face. “Why aren’t you talking?” He then seems to realize you are there, and freezes.

“Sorry to wake you guys up, but it’s time to eat, then you can go back to bed,” You say, feeling awkward and feeling like you butted in on a private conversation. The Boss is stiff, not looking at you but the Edgy keeps looking back and forth between you and him. You sit and wait. You’re just about to say something when you hear the Boss talk.

“We… we still get food?” If the TV was on, you would have missed it. He turns to face you but doesn’t look up. It breaks your heart to know that he thought he wasn’t getting food tonight.

“Of course, why wouldn’t you get food?” You put the cup in front of him, and the other one in front of the Edgy. “I want you to try and eat on your own, Edgy. Give it a try, but if you need help, I can help you.” 

The Edgy shifts and sits up, shyly taking the cup and putting it to his mouth. He dribbles a little, but takes a big gulp and sets it down. He glances at the Boss who hasn’t started eating yet, and is instead just sitting stiffly and staring at the cup. “H-he’s af-fraid c-cause h-he b-b-bit ya.”

You’re caught off guard. It’s the first time the Edgy has ever talked to you. His face contorts with the effort, and he squeezes his eye sockets closed to finish the sentence. When he is done, he looks at you, nervous expression on his face. You smile as softly as you can.

“Well he doesn’t need to worry about that. No matter what happens, you two will always get food here. I will never take away a meal,” it infuriated you to know they were so abused. If you ever met the mother fucker who did this to them… You do your best to keep your voice calm. "I'm not going to punish you for being afraid. That's not how I do things."

The Boss isn't moving still and you start to wonder if you will need to syringe feed him. You grab the syringe and are about to take the cup back when the Boss picks it up and starts drinking from it. The Edgy seems to be relieved and goes back to his own cup, spilling a bit out again from where his teeth are missing. You leave them alone for a bit and go make yourself a microwave TV dinner, then come back.

The paper cups are stacked nicely at the entrance of the box. Both bitties look exhausted and the Edgy is already laying down. You want to talk to them about tomorrow, but you also don't want them to worry about it right now and get some sleep. You smile at them and put down the towel after telling them good night and to rest, then eat your TV dinner. You think about going to your bedroom to sleep but you don't want to leave them alone just yet, and you know you won't get a lot of sleep in your room, so you settle on the couch and set your alarm for the morning as you doze off. 

\----

The pain was excruciating. It hurt so bad that he can't think, can't stop his shaking, can't breathe. He reaches out for Edgy, but stops himself before he can wake the smaller bitty. The pain was deep in his soul. He bites back tears and tries to keep from crying out.

Before they got injured, he and Edgy's souls were well sustained on each other. They didn't have a lot of energy, but they also didn't have a lot to do in the cage. After the injuries however, both of them slept a lot more. He didn't know if Edgy was getting the pain in his soul like Boss was, but he didn't seem like he was. Part of that could be because Boss was trying to make sure he took less energy from Edgy than he was giving. 

Either way, he didn't want to hurt Edgy now, so he suffered quietly. His jaw shook and he was crying silently, trying to ride out each wave of pain. He needed to do something, he could feel himself getting weaker. He couldn't leave Edgy alone with the human, who knew what they might do to him??

The human. In a moment of clarity, he realized with horror the solution. He froze and forgot his pain as he thought about what he was about to do. He finally moved again once his soul throbbed hard, doubling him over in pain once more. 

Between spikes of pain that left him nauseous, he scooted himself out of the cube. His fear got the best of him and he stopped halfway over to the couch. He couldn't do this. He couldn't. He-

Pain doubled him over and he let out a quiet sob, eyesockets squeezed in agony. He was so occupied in keeping himself quiet that he didn't notice the human had woken up and was looking at him. 

"Are you ok?" They whispered. He jerked and looked up, staring into their concerned eyes. He clutched at the center of his chest and gasped, fighting his fear. He needed to do this or he would dust.

"M-my soul…" he raised his arms up to the human and sobbed again. "P-p-please." It was a whisper and for a second he wasn't sure this human even knew what he needed, but then he was wrapped in their warm hand and put on their chest.

Their soul was strong and calming. It responded to his wounded one by flooding his with the energy it so desperately needed. The human kept their hand on him, rubbing their thumb against his head gently. After a few minutes, the pain was gone and he sobbed freely, unsure if it was from relief or fear.

"Do you want to talk about it?" They asked, their voice rumbling in their chest in such a way that caused his soul to momentarily flutter. He gripped their shirt and shook his head. His crying slowly stopped and he nodded off.

The human shifted and for a second, he was terrified that he was going to be put back on the ground. A blanket was pulled up on him and the human sighed. 

"Get some sleep. I'm right here if you need anything." It was all the permission he needed. For once, he felt safe next to a human, their kind soul guiding him into a blissful sleep.


	7. Progress and Names

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> What's this, two chapters in one day? No proofreading, if you notice something distracting let me know

You woke up before your alarm to the sound of crying. You were fucking exhausted after being woken up at night and sleeping lightly to keep from rolling on the Boss bitty. He was currently curled up on you, little hands still gripping your shirt. 

It really surprised you to wake up and see him by the couch, but you remembered reading about bitties and their needs to be next to other souls. All it took was hearing his voice to convince you to hold him. 

The sobbing wasn't coming from him, but the box. You gave him a gentle stroke on his head with your thumb, then cupped him against your chest and got up. He didn't move except to nuzzle his face into your shirt more. You stifle a laugh and sit down next to the box.

Edgy's curled up in a ball sobbing. His back is to you and he has a washcloth that he's clinging to. It breaks your heart.

"Hey, what's wrong little guy?" Your voice makes him freeze for a second before burrowing into the pile of fabric. You sigh. Today is already off to a great start…

In your hand, the Boss bitty shifted, and you looked down to see him staring at you. Your eyes locked and he looked away, little hands untangling from your shirt. 

"H-he probably thinks you took me away," he muttered. Though his voice was still quiet and wavered a bit, he seemed stronger than he had ever been. You smile at him and set him at the entrance of the box. 

"I'll go get food. It'll be a little bit," you said. He nodded at you and started scooting over to the lump of fabric. 

It doesn't take you long to make coffee and get their food portioned out, but you purposefully take your time with your breakfast to give them time to themselves. You aren't looking forward to work. After last night, you have more concerns about their health, so you make a command decision and call in sick. Their health was still touch and go, and you don't want to risk it. 

You bring back their food and look in. The Edgy has his arms wrapped tightly around the Boss, but he's not crying anymore. The Boss just stares at you, seemingly deep in thought. 

"Breakfast time. You guys are almost done with the goo so in a few days you can have real food," you try to strike up a conversation with little luck. The Boss bitty just nods and picks up his cup. The Edgy doesn't do anything but stare. It becomes clear after a few minutes that he isn't going to eat when he lets go of the Boss bitty and lays down with his eyes closed. 

You panic a little. The Boss bitty finishes his meal and looks at the Edgy. He frowns and pokes at him. "Eat," he says, but the Edgy doesn't move. He stares at him for a bit longer before turning to you. 

"He's weak…" he seems to be considering something. "Like… like I was last night." It suddenly clicks in your head and you nod. You reach in and wrap your hands around the Edgy. The Boss seems to panic and grabs onto your hand, so you scoop him up too. 

Back to the couch you go, and you put them both on your chest as you lay down. The Boss rearranges the Edgy on you. You doze off again, your coffee and breakfast getting cold on your coffee table. 

When you wake up again, you hear them talking. You keep your eyes closed and listen, trying to pretend to be asleep. You weren't eavesdropping so to say, just giving them privacy.

"I didn't know my soul was that bad, I'm sorry," the Boss says. He sounded upset. 

"W-when were ya' g-gonna tell me?" The Edgy was crying and you could hear it in his voice. "W-when ya' were t-too weak to talk? O-or w-would I just h-have to figure it out when I f-found a pile of yer d-d-dust?" He let out a sob.

"No, no, please I… I didn't want to worry you. Please don't cry."

"W-why didn't you c-come to me? I c-could have… w-why the h-human?" There was a surprising amount of disgust in his voice. You tried not to cringe.

"You're weak right now. No, don't look at me like that, you know I didn't mean it like that. You know what I mean. We both are low on magic right now. We can't keep living off of each other's soul like we used to, not when we're still… like this."

"A-an' so y-you t-trust this h-human??" The venom was understandable but still jarring. 

"No. I don't. But I will do anything to keep you alive and safe. Edgy, you couldn't stay awake to even eat. Do you even know how bad your health is? We have to… we have to get better so we can face whatever this human will do to us. Right now they don't seem to want to hurt us, so we need to take advantage of the situation."

Then there was silence for a minute or two. You were going to open your eyes and make a show of waking up, but then the Edgy spoke again. His voice was more calm and the stuttering almost non-existent.

"B-been a while since I was this close to a human soul, y-ya' know?" He sighed. "Feels nice…"

"I've… I've been meaning to ask you this, but I didn't know how. And then everything happened. You don't have to answer. But what… what happened to you? How did he end up with you?"

Edgy laughed and it sounded harsh. "F-found me on the streets. Really nothin' to it."

"Is that why he always said he saved you?" Silence. Then a sigh. "I'm sorry, I shouldn't have-"

"M-my previous human. He was a r-really good guy ya' know? D-didn't deserve him. An' one day he lost his job. Said we'd have more time t-together. I wanted him to never go back to w-work. Thought I was lucky 'cause he didn't.

"B-but then he said we had to leave the house an' go campin' in town. Said it was a fun new adventure. So we l-lived in parks an' slept on benches but it was always h-him an' me. Just us. He kept tryin' to get into indoor places to s-sleep, but they wouldn't let him in 'cause of m-me.

"So one day when it was gettin' c-cold, I left. Left him a note an' just… left. 'Bout a week later that b-bastard found me. My other human… doesn't have to w-worry 'bout feedin' me. Hope he g-got a warm place to sleep…" he trailed off. You felt the bodies shift on your chest.

"I'm sorry. I shouldn't have pushed. I'm… glad I got to meet you. I just wish it wasn't…"

"Ya' suck at bein' s-sappy boss," the Edgy giggled. "Yer face is all twisted l-like yet suckin' on a lemon."

You can't help the smile that appears on your face. The movement stops and you know you are caught. You yawn a bit and rub at your eyes, before looking at them. 

They are staring at you, frozen in their last action. Edgy's hand is on Boss's face in a shoving away motion and Boss's arms are around Edgy's shoulders. Your face heats up in embarrassment. 

"Didn't mean to interrupt. Uh… want brunch?" You sheepishly ask. Edgy inhales sharply and Boss nods. You situate them back in the box and clean up the old cups and dishes and bring back a small amount of food for Boss and a normal portion for Edgy.

"Sooooo…" You say as you sit there and watch them eat. The Boss bitty looks at you with apprehension. "I overheard a little when I was waking up. I know you don't believe me right now, but you don't need to be afraid of me. I'll never hurt you. You're not getting treated like that ever again. I promise."

They don't look at you, but the Edgy finishes his meal and the Boss hands the cups back to you. You clean up and eat lunch, then come back and turn on the TV. The bitties slowly come out of the box and sit on the floor in front of it, craning their heads up to see the TV with curiosity. 

"Want on the couch? You can see better," you smile at them and prep one of your blankets for a nest. They watch you a bit, then the Boss finally nods.

You're actually impressed with how many bites he could have taken on you. You don't know why he's acting so good, but you do appreciate the lack of maiming. They settle into the blankets and the Edgy dozes off to the sounds of the movie.

"He already looks so much better…" the Boss bitty says. He still won't look at you and is instead watching the war movie that was playing. "He really… needed that. Thank you…"

"You don't need to thank me. I just want you two to get better," you give him a sad smile. "I want to see both of you recover."

"Why?" He's glancing at you out of the corner of his sockets, his arms folded. "Why do you care?"

"I don't know. Because I'm not a jackass? Because someone has to? Because you both are adorable and I already love having you here?"

His face turns bright red at the last part. "I thought you said this wouldn't be right for any of us? That you just wanted to check up on us and find us a shelter."

Now it was your turn to flush with color. "Y-yeah I did say that. Look, I'm not confident in what I'm doing. You two are literally my first um.. pets, I guess. Well not really pets, you're more than pets. Point being, I'm not going to be the best with some of this stuff, I'm already not the best. I've already made mistakes. But… I don't know. I know you two have made amazing progress in just a few days and I'm not lying when I say I really do enjoy having you here."

"Even… even though I bite you?" He was looking away, jaw tight and small hands in fists. You smile and sigh.

"I would prefer if you didn't. I don't want to wear gloves around you. I know you don't bite me because you hate me or something, I know you do it because you're scared. How about this, you let me know if you're scared or startled and I won't touch you unless absolutely necessary?"

He looks at you, eyes sockets wide. "You would do that? If I didn't want you to touch me or Edgy, you… would just leave us alone?"

"Absolutely. Unless it's life threatening. You just say so, or let me know in another way, and I'll back off. I want you to be more… you. Boss me around a bit, let me know what you and Edgy need."

He swallows hard and seems to think for a bit. Sweat breaks out on his skull and he looks everywhere except for you. Finally, after what seems to be eternity, he speaks. 

"Can we… mmm.." he takes a breath and tries again. "I want us to have names. Please. If that's ok." 

You smile. You weren't expecting that. "Of course." His head snaps to you and you could swear he's smiling a bit. You glance at the TV as you think.

"How about Commander for you, and Warrior for your brother?"


	8. Warrior and Commander

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Got a new tablet so writing is a heck of a lot easier! Short and boring chapter, but things will be picking up.

He couldn't believe that the human was this nice. It had to be a trick. There was no way they had gotten this lucky. Deep inside him, his soul told him he was wrong. He felt the kindness from them. It washed over him and muddied his panic. So kind, so warm…

He kept staring up at the human, soaking in the tranquility of it all. They sighed in their sleep and for a second, he tensed, ready to run back to the box. They didn’t wake up and he relaxed. It drove him insane…

Warrior. They named him Warrior. He wasn’t a warrior, he was a coward with issues. He cried at the simplest of things. He hid from everything. He had to rely on his brother to keep him safe because he was too damn afraid to defend himself. Warrior. What a joke…

He scrubbed at his eyes, willing the tears to stop. He couldn’t stop, and before he knew it, he was sobbing. He sat down and pulled his knees to his chest, trying to calm down. Before he knew it, Commander’s arms were around him. “W-why?” He asked, trying to breathe through his tears and not wake the human.

“Why what?” Commander replied, running part of his sleeve against Warrior’s cheek to dry some tears. 

“W-why did t-they name me s-something s-so stupid!” He gasped and clasped his hands over his mouth. Commander smiled and gave him a squeeze.

“I think it’s fitting. I think your name suits you. Come on, let’s go back to sleep.”

\-----

In the morning, when you woke up, Commander was waiting for you outside the box. It honestly surprised you so much that you had to blink and rub your eyes a few times to make sure you weren't seeing things or dreaming. He looked unsure, and his hands clenched, but he stared at you without a bit of spite in his eyes.

"W-when do you leave?" He shifted a bit. You had told them last night that you had to go to work. His reaction confused you. Last night he didn’t seem to care but today he looked nervous. Almost… scared.

“In a few hours. I’ll make sure you two are set up with TV and my tablet for contacting me before I go. Is there anything else you might need? You are still on the meal replacement goo so you shouldn’t need any lunch…” You stretch and yawn. “Anyway, want to come to the kitchen and get breakfast ready with me?”

You put your hand out next to him on the ground, palm up for him to climb into. He looks at you, then your hand. After a few seconds, he shakes his head and squeezes his eyesockets shut. You smile a bit and pick your hand up.

“No hard feelings Commander, thank you for letting me know you aren’t comfortable with this yet. I’ll go get your food ready,” you say as you get up. He looks up at you, unsure. For just a split second, you swear you can see a smile.

The rest of the morning goes by too fast.The bitties eat breakfast without any issues and you make sure they have everything they need, even moving the box to the couch so they could comfortably watch TV if they wanted to. After a few goodbyes and double checking everything, you leave and go to work.

Work is slow and mundane. You are only excited for your breaks so you can check up on them. They never send you a message, so you assume they are sleeping or busy watching TV. You sigh, and browse a few social media apps for groups you can join in case you have any questions. Today was going to be slow….

\------

The window would probably be the best place to escape. If he could get it open, maybe they could put the blanket out and use that to climb down. Commander chewed at the tip of his thumb in thought. Still, even if they got out, they would have to deal with the outside world. Everything was so big and dangerous, and it would be just a matter of time before an animal ate them or another human found them.

Plus, he was broken. He couldn’t walk and that would put Warrior in danger…

He didn’t want to admit that this human was their only hope at survival. He didn’t want to get his hopes up and have them crushed. He didn’t want to believe that all along, this human was out there. They were too kind…

If they betrayed him, he wasn’t sure he could handle it. Already his soul craved theirs and missed their presence. He sighed and turned to the TV, arms crossed and deep in thought. He didn’t notice when he fell asleep.

The sound of a key going into the door and the door handle turning woke him up. Panic set in and before he knew what he was doing, he was pushing a sleepy Warrior towards the box. The sudden shift of weight caused him to tumble off the couch and land hard on his back. Pain caused his vision to white out, and for a moment he was paralyzed, unable to do anything but panic.

When his vision came back, the human was by his side, staring at him and talking to him. He gasped and blinked, trying to get his soul to stop throbbing for a few moments enough for him to think.

“-ou ok? Please tell me you’re ok, I didn’t mean to startle you, please be ok,” he could sense both the human’s panic and Warrior’s panic from the couch. A few deep breaths steadied him and finally he was able to talk.

“I-I’m fine,” he was still shakey from his own fear. He pushed himself up into a sitting position. “You just… startled me.” 

The human laughed. “Yeah, I bet. Good thing there was carpet to break your fall. Maybe we need to work on a secret knock so you know it’s me or something.” Their smile was bright and their soul was beaming. He looked away, embarassed.

Dinner was normal and quiet. The human was tired from what he could tell, but they still tried to chat with him and Warrior. Warrior was still unsure about the human and spend most of the evening hiding from the human behind him. Commander didn’t mind. If the human changed their mind suddenly, he wouldn’t have to do much to make sure his brother was safe.

The human yawned. “Hey, as much as I like living on the couch, I do want to eventually move over to my bedroom. Do you two want to stay out here, or do you want me to set up an area in my bedroom for you?”

The question caught him off guard. He had a choice? On top of that, the human was putting themself in an uncomfortable position over the last few days because of them. He looked down, slightly ashamed. Part of him desperatly wanted to stay out in the familiar living room, away from the human, but a bigger part of him knew his soul craved the human’s soul. He sighed.

“Don’t leave us out here p-please…” Why was it so hard to just tell them what to do?? He barely remembered a time when he was confident and sure of himself. He barely remembered who he was before….

The human smiled. “As you wish Commander,” They said, and picked up their box. “I’ll be right back once I set up a place for you.” With that, they were gone.

Warrior prodded at his side. “W-why ya gotta tell them w-we want ta be in the same room as t-them?” He scowled. Commander had gotten very good at reading his brother’s moods and emotions. Warrior was clearly nervous, but more than that, he was grumpy and sleepy. He couldn’t help the small smile on his face.

“I know you are tired. Once the human returns you can sleep,” He said softly, shifting so he could run his hand on Warrior’s skull. He practically melted into the touch and let out a loud sigh. 

“F-fine, but yer gettin’ the blankets ready,” he grinned. Commander’s soul lept for a second.

“Deal.”

\-----  
Outside, autumn rain coated the ground. It was dark and cold, and something was ready to hunt.


	9. New Life

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Please be warned, there is depiction of abuse towards the end. I know I haven't done warnings very well but I'm trying to work on that.
> 
> Special thanks to many people on the undertale discord I'm currently in. Without your kind comments I wouldn't be so motivated to keep going on this.
> 
> As always, I'm skipping proofreading to get these out to you guys faster so if you find something, please let me know.

Life started to settle down. You get into a routine with the bitties. You never knew you would need them as much as you do, but it is a pleasant side effect of taking them in. You are still learning though, but besides little hiccups, things seem to be looking up.

Each morning, you wake up to Commander poking you awake. That started two weeks after you took them in. You asked him about it when he started doing it, and he told you he started waking you because he hated the sound of the alarm. You didn’t blame him and you quite like having him wake you up.

From there, you carry both boys to the living room and set them on the couch. Commander usually turns on the TV to the news, and you go and make breakfast and coffee.

You’ve learned quite a lot of things about them. You now know that Warrior will eat anything coated in mustard. ANYTHING. You’ve never seen anything eat a piece of lint, but first time for everything, right? Both you and Commander couldn’t hide your disgust. 

Commander eating habits are much better than his brother. The first time you gave them an apple, you could have sworn his eyelights turned into hearts. You found out he loves to eat healthy, and in turn you are now eating better. His favorite food is cucumber, and you usually go through one a day with him around. He isn’t too picky though, and will practically eat any fruit or vegetable.

After breakfast, you shower and the boys bathe. Commander told you that they did not need to bathe every single day, but you noticed that he has less pain in his legs on bath day. You have a section on your bathroom sink set up just for them. 

After getting ready for work, you set them up on the couch with some lunch on the side table. You then leave. Occasionally they communicate with you through your tablet. When work is done, you rush home. 

Out of everything you have learned, dealing with disability has been the hardest to get right. You don’t always get it right the first time. Your apartment has little elevators everywhere that you made yourself out of hooks placed in the ceiling or walls, rope, and handmade baskets. The boys pull themselves up on your bed, couch, bathroom counter, and kitchen counter with the elevators. 

You had read that Edgy type bitties could teleport short distances, but your Warrior either can’t or doesn’t want to. Either way, it doesn’t matter to you. With him being the more able bodied of the two, you usually try to focus mobility items on Commander.

That doesn’t mean every idea you have had is a success. You did find a store that specialized in bitty supplies, and managed to order in a wheelchair for Commander. After presenting it to him, he didn’t speak to you for two days. You didn't know why he was so upset with the gift until Warrior confronted you. 

"H-he's not b-broken ya know?" He glared at you. You were working on making dinner when he pulled himself up on the counter. Commander had made himself scarce since you showed him the wheelchair. You stopped cutting vegetables and looked at him.

"I never said he was broken," Warrior coming to talk to you without Commander was unusual. "Why would you think that I think he's broken?"

"C-cause you gave h-him that c-chair. H-humans use 'em w-when they're broken," he sat down and crossed his arms. "H-he's not b-broken."

"No, you're right. He's not broken. I gave him the chair so he can get around without having to scoot across the floors. I never meant to offend him."

"B-but… W-why does he need the c-chair? You c-carry him. H-he's…" he trailed off. You waited for about a minute and then he continued. "A-afraid you w-won't carry h-him anymore…"

You could swear your heart was going to explode. "Oh, oh! No, I still will carry him, I was thinking more of when I'm at work and he wants to get to other rooms. I still want to carry him, I promise."

You'd never seen Warrior's grin go so relaxed before. He didn't say anything else and just got up and off the counter. During dinner that night, Commander finally started talking again. 

Communication issues happened often, but you learned the best way to get around them was to give them space for up to half a day, then see if they wanted to talk. If you left them too long, they stewed in their insecurities and worry. If you tried to talk to them too soon, it would lead to stress and tears.

But not everything was stressful. After work and dinner, you watch TV with them. Warrior loves slapstick humor. The first time you heard his genuine laughing your heart soars. Even Commander was grinning. 

After TV time, you head to your bedroom with them. They lay on your chest and you read out loud to them. The first time you tried reading with them on your chest, Commander kept interrupting you. 

"What's that word?"

"As."

"And that word?"

"Another."

"That one?"

"Resounding."

"That one?"

"Boom. Commander, would you like me to read to you two?"

"I thought you would never get the hint."

After about 30 minutes, they usually get off of your chest and head to bed. Sometimes they sleep next to you on your bed, but most of the time they go to their box and enjoy some alone time. 

Life is good. You love every moment of your time with them. Your phone fills up with pictures of them, and you have never felt so happy before.

\-----

It was your day off and you were browsing through one of the bitty related websites that you signed up for. You were on your phone with your headphones on and laying in your bed. The boys were napping in the cube. 

You didn't know what you were getting into when you clicked the link. The title was unsuspecting. "Just got a new Bitty, come watch me play with him!" It read. 

In the video was a Softbones type bitty, curled up on a blanket and fast asleep. You smile at the sweet image. If you were ever to get another bitty, you would think getting a Softbones would be a good fit. You keep watching as gloved hands enter the frame and pick him up. 

You didn't even see the needle coming until it was jammed into his eye. You yanked off your headphones at the screaming, but couldn't exit out fast enough to avoid watching the second needle go into his other eye. You hit the report button on the post and pushed your phone away from yourself, curling up into a ball.

You couldn't think. Panic clogged your mind and you squeezed your eyes shut and you bit your lip to keep from crying out and waking up the boys. You couldn't think of anything besides the video, you couldn't…. You couldn't…

"Breathe," it was Commander's voice, calm and clear. His hand grazed your forehead in a petting motion. You gasped and sucked in air, but you still felt like you were drowning. 

"Good. Now out." You were sobbing now, trying to breathe through your tears. You opened your eyes, and sitting next to him was a very worried Warrior. Commander kept leading you through your panic, never stopping his petting, while Warrior cuddled into your neck.

When you were finally calmed down, you were afraid they would want you to explain what had upset you. You never forced them to talk about what happened to them, and it seemed they were willing to return the favor for you. After a bit more cuddling and petting, Warrior poked your face.

"C-can we watch Ponyo?" He asked. You gave him a smile, and pulled it up on your phone. You fell asleep with them around you, and when you woke up in the morning, they were still there.


	10. The Dead Bird

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> You know the drill, if you find anything off, let me know.
> 
> Trigger warning: blood, dead animal

During breakfast, you decide to treat the boys to something nice for helping you yesterday. You hadn’t taken them outside of the apartment since you brought them home, and the weather forecast was supposed to be nice today. You handed Commander another piece of cucumber.

“Thank you guys for last night. How about we go to a park today? Weather should be good,” You said, taking another bite of your toast. Warrior froze mid bite of mustard covered hashbrowns.

“Y-yer not gonna leave us there, r-right?” Small sweat beads rolled down his head. He had gotten better talking to you, but he was still very easy to scare.

“Nope. I would miss you guys too much to leave you in a park. Plus I’ve got waaaay too much mustard to use by myself and I need your help with it,” You grinned at him, and he grinned back. You had gotten used to having to reassure them constantly and it no longer bothered you as much as it used to. 

“What would we do at this ‘park’?” Commander asked, grimacing at the mustard running down Warrior’s face. He grabbed a piece of the damp washcloth you always had ready, and wiped at Warrior’s chin. Due to the missing teeth, Warrior not only had to have softer food, but also was a very messy eater. You could tell messes bothered Commander, but he never chastised Warrior over it. Their interactions never failed to make you smile.

“Well I was thinking about taking a book and maybe a lunch. Mostly just hanging out with you two and enjoying the day. Is that alright?” Commander always had the last say in activities concerning the two bitties. It was one of the only other things he asked for besides their names. Everything else, he quietly hinted at until you got the idea of what he wanted or needed.

“Sure. It sounds like… it could be nice,” He finished cleaning up Warrior and returned back to finishing his cucumber slice. You smile at him, and work on your own breakfast.

Once you had finished packing for the day trip, you got the carrier ready. Commander eyed it nervously from his usual spot on your shoulder, but said nothing. You put as many soft blankets in it as you could find, then put it next to the day bag.

“Ready?” You asked them. You felt shifting from the top of your head where Warrior was, then a small couple of pats. Commander took a deep breath, and nodded. You grabbed the bag and the carrier and locked your door before heading to your car.

Once in the car, you tossed the bag into the back seat, and set the carrier in the front, buckling it into the seat.

“Alright, safety first. Into the carrier you two,” You said, holding your hand up for Warrior to get off of you first. He gripped onto your hand, but when you pulled your hand down to eye level, you saw him shaking. “It’s ok War, the carrier is just so you are safe when I drive. I would be so lost if something bad happened to you while I was driving．Got a lot of mustard to go through, remember?"

He nodded, and you smiled and rubbed his head with your thumb for a moment. He closed his eyes in bliss and leaned into your affection. Commander cleared his throat and you moved your hand for him to scoot on. You never grabbed him unless absolutely necessary. You put them in the carrier and closed the door.

“Just let me know if you need me to pull over and let you guys out. The park isn’t far so it should only be 10 minutes tops,” You said as you started the car. Commander nodded, and you set off.

The park that you were going to was bitty friendly, and had a nice green area with a small creek and pond. It was one of your favorite parks to be in. You pulled into the parking lot and opened the crate. Commander held his arms up, signaling you to put your hand down for him to scoot onto. Once both bitties were in their spots, you grabbed the bag and got out.

You heard Commander gasp from your shoulder and smiled. “It’s nice, isn’t it?” You asked him, looking over at him. His eyesockets were wide and his jaw was slightly ajar in awe. He caught himself and looked over at you and smiled.

“Yeah. Thank you,” He said. You walked over to the pond and found a place under a tree to sit down. The boys slid down your clothes and into your lap and listened as you read.

After reading for a bit and eating lunch, you got up and went for a walk with them on your shoulders. Commander spent the time watching and looking at everything, while Warrior smiled and closed his eyes. The sun was high and a gentle cool wind blew on your face. It was nice and you wished you could share every moment like this with your boys.

“Oh hey, you have bitties too!” A sweet sounding voice said behind you, causing you to turn around. Standing in front of you was a young woman with a bitty on her shoulder as well. He had a bandage on his head and a little leather jacket. He clutched at her hair and glared.

“Oh, um, hi. I didn’t notice you,”” You said quietly. The boys scooted closer to your neck and Warrior tried to hide behind your hoodie. The woman laughed.

“I didn’t mean to startle you. I just wanted to say hi. It’s rare me and Brassberry meet another owner of a ‘violent’ type of bitty. Not that yours are, I’m sure they are sweet, but they are considered a more aggressive type, which isn’t bad- and now I’m rambling. Sorry!” She gave a sheepish grin. 

“No, don’t worry about it. I’ve never seen a Brassberry before. Would you two like to walk with us?” You smiled. She nodded and joined you for your walk.

During the walk, you learned that she had found Brassberry in an alley and worked hard to get him back to health. She told you that he almost died but now he was very strong and her best friend. Warrior eventually calmed down and started trading jokes back and forth with the other bitty. After a while, Commander snapped. 

“Would you two PLEASE SHUT UP WITH THE PUNS!” At first you were stunned and afraid that Commander was indeed offended, but then Warrior snickered.

“I dun think he finds us punny,” He said to the Brassberry.

“Such a shame, I thought we were bein’ humerus,” The Brassberry replied back.

“I think they will groan on him.”

“Do you think we will get pun-ished?”

“Nah, eventually they should tickle his funny bone.”

“I bet they're startin' to get under his skin.”

“NNNN STOP IT!!” The look on Commander’s face wasn’t really anger, but it was enough annoyance to get you and the girl wheezing with laughter.

“I think he likes ‘em, tibia honest.”

“AHHHHH WARRIOR!!!!”

\-----

Phone numbers exchanged, you got back in your car and secured the boys in their carrier. Warrior was very talkative the entire ride home, and you listened to him excitedly tell Commander about a dream he had. It was nice, and you knew you were going to have to go to the park more often.

The weekend ended too quickly and you were woken up by Commander on Monday, as usual.

“It’s time to get up,” He said, poking at your cheek. You smiled.

“Nah, don’t want to.”

He groaned. “Must we do this every morning?”

“Yup. I won’t get up unless you do it.”

He groaned again and sighed. “Human get up this instant, I demand it.”

You smiled harder. “There’s my boy. Alright, alright, I’m getting up.” He smiled back at you and scooted back to the cube to wake up Warrior. You got up, and started getting ready for work.

\-----

“I’m on my way out, message me if you need me!” You said as you left. The boys waved at you as you closed the door. You got in your car and went to work.

Work, as usual, went by slowly. You chatted with the boys on your lunch and breaks, but other than that, nothing interesting happened until you got out to your car. You noticed a spattering of dark red, and a black body of a bird in the gutter of the parking lot. Curious, you closed your car door and walked over. 

Tearing flesh out of the bird was a bitty coated in blood. Its head snapped up as you got close, and one disturbingly large red eyelight focused on you with murderous intent.


	11. Hunger

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Trigger warning: violence, blood, dead animal, vomiting and eating issues
> 
> Ayyyeee I've been waiting for this chapter for a while. Enjoy!

The bird didn’t notice him sneaking up on it. His grin increased, and he jumped down from the trash can he was standing on, landing on the bird’s back. It flailed, and started flapping, but he was quicker. He brought the sharp stone down behind its head, stabbing down and through the neck. Blood gushed as he pulled the stone out and the bird thrashed, but he held on and after a moment, the movement stopped. The bird dropped dead.

He jumped off of the body and stuck his hand in his mouth, sucking off the blood. After ripping off a few feathers, he plunged his sharp rock into the body. He cut off a piece of raw meat, and started ravenously eating, but the hunger wouldn’t go away. It would never go away.

\----

You weren’t expecting to see a bitty. You froze and stared back, a chill working its way down your neck and spine. You weighed the options of going back to your car and grabbing the box you permanently kept in the trunk for such situations. Your hand twitched on your car keys, and the movement was enough to snap the bitty out of the staring contest.

Your hand shot out to grab him in the same instant that he moved towards you. You realized your mistake the exact moment that sharp pain blossomed in your hand and wrist. Your hand circled the bitty, fresh blood dripping down your arm. The sharp pain continued and you hissed, trying to keep your hand on the small creature without crushing him. It was too much for you to take, however, and you drop him a few inches from where you scooped him up.

Your hand and wrist were practically cut to shreds, blood soaking your hoodie sleeve. You pull your hoodie off and wrap your hand. The bitty was nowhere to be seen. You groaned and got into your car.

A second look at the wounds told you that you didn’t need to go to the hospital, but you still kept them wrapped as you drove home. When you got into the apartment, Commander greeted you in his normal polite way at first.

“Welcome home, human. How was your- what happened to your hand?” His eyesockets went wide, then narrowed at the sight of your wrapped hand. You gave a slight chuckle and headed to the kitchen where you kept the first aid kit under the sink.

“Nothing too bad, just a few cuts. I found another bitty and tried to grab him,” you said, pulling out the kit. While you were unwrapping the hoodie and running your hand under the water, Commander wheeled the small distance from the living room to the kitchen counter elevator. You were too preoccupied with washing out the grit and small feathers from the cuts to notice him approaching.

“Unacceptable,” His voice caught you off guard and you jumped. 

“Wha-”

“I request the ability to create a new rule,” He glared at your hand, then up at your face, his little arms crossed. You stopped picking out items from the cuts and looked at him.

“Alright, what’s up?” Did something happen while you were out that you didn’t know about? Did they need more things to do during the day? Warrior pulled himself on the counter with the elevator, and sat down next to Commander, his eyesockets on your hand with his face twisted in a pained expression.

“You are not allowed to put yourself in dangerous situations. That includes regarding other bitties or humans,” You had seen Commander serious before, but not this serious. You gave him a small smile.

“It’s ok, I’m fine. They are just some small cuts. I’m more concerned about that bitty…” You trailed off, and went back to cleaning the cuts. Some of them were deeper than you would like to admit, but luckily they were not on any vital areas.

“... Fine…” Commander looked like he was going to say something else, but instead closed his mouth and looked away. Your heart dropped and you turned the water off, wrapping your hand in a paper towel.

“Oh, sweet baby, I didn’t mean to negate what you wanted. You know that. I know you are worried,” You held out your uninjured hand to him. He hesitated for a second, then crawled into your palm. You smiled softly and lifted him to your face, giving him a few kisses to the top of his head before putting him on his spot on your shoulder. He sighed.

“You need to think of us too. If something happened to you, we would starve to death,” He huffed, not looking at you. You frowned a bit. It hadn’t even crossed your mind that you were putting them in danger with your actions. 

“Alright. You’re right. I’m sorry I didn’t think of you two. No more dangerous situations, I promise,” You said. Warrior pulled a bandaid out of the package and handed it to you. You took it and put some neosporin on it, then put it on one of the cuts. 

“It’s ok. Y-You didn’t mean anythin’ bad by i-it,” Warrior said, giving you a cheeky grin and handing you another bandaid. “C-can’t be too mad, ‘cause if you hadn’t risked y-yerself with us, w-we would be d-dead.” 

You felt Commander nod from your shoulder. “We did hurt you too, didn’t we…” He mumbled. If he wasn’t on your shoulder, you would have missed it. It caught you off guard, this was the first time they had brought up that day since you brought them home.

“You remember that day?” You honestly thought they forgot about it with how rough and close to death they were. Warrior paused unwrapping another bandaid and looked down at his lap. For a moment, you thought you had upset them until Commander spoke.

“I don’t remember too much, but I remember… Being afraid. Biting you. Then the box and… nothing else…” He sounded pained, then huffed out a sigh. “Enough of this. Focus on fixing that hand up.”

You wanted to push the subject further, maybe find out what happened to the two before you found them, but decided against it. “Yes sir. What do you think would be good for dinner?”

“Veggie burgers. The ones with peas and zucchini.”

“Noooo….” Warrior groaned and handed you another bandaid. You fought back a giggle.

“Ok, but only if we can make tater tots too. We might drive War to never speak to us again if we don’t give him at least something he can ruin with mustard.”

Commander sighed. “Fine.”

\-----

That night, as both your boys cuddled your injured hand, you thought of what to do. You could tell the management team of your work about the bitty, but you were afraid of what they would do to him. You didn’t get a good look at him before you had to set him down, but you did see that he was thin. Plus, his eyes didn’t look right…

If you told management, they would probably try to catch him. If they caught him humanely and turned him over to the pound, it wasn’t guarenteed that he wouldn’t be put down. You couldn’t just grab him like you did earlier, that went over horribly and you promised the boys. You could just leave the matter alone and let nature do what nature does, but deep in your heart, you knew you couldn’t do that and feel good about yourself.

You didn’t even know if he would still be there tomorrow. There was a chance that you scared him off enough to make him leave the area. Maybe he had already been caught or maybe he already was….

No. You wouldn’t accept that. You were sure he was ok. He had made it this long. Maybe tomorrow, you would look for him and see if you could convince him to come with you. If anything, you could leave him some food so he didn’t have to resort to eating dead birds.

You don’t remember when you fell asleep. Your night is plagued by dreams of small starving skeletons. When you wake up, you take one look at your boys and know that you have to do something.

\-----

You didn’t see him on your way into work. Still, you left a small dish of water and a packaged pastry at the nearest bush next to the gutter in hopes that he would get to it before any other animal.

Work was slow as usual. A few people asked about the bandaids on your hand, but you laughed it off and said a cat got you. You checked for him on your lunch and breaks while you were talking to your boys. Still nothing.

You were almost certain that he had left the area until your shift ended. The pasty package had been ripped to shreds, and the actual pastry was nowhere to be seen. Sure, another wild animal could have gotten to it, but it gave you hope nonetheless.

Over the next two weeks you brought food with you to leave by the bush and changed the water daily. You were afraid that you were not giving him the best choices of food, but you were uncomfortable with leaving perishable foods and making him sick.

Along with pastries and chips, you started leaving cans with pull tabs of fruit and meats. One time you left a can of vegetable beef soup. No matter what you left, the food was always gone and the packages were destroyed.

You tried to pinpoint exactly what time he was going after the food, but it always changed. Sometimes the food would be gone before your first break, sometimes it wouldn't be gone until the next morning. You wondered if there were multiple bitties with the amount of food that was being eaten. It didn't matter though. You kept leaving food and changing the water.

\-----  
The hunger wouldn't go away. It wouldn't _stop._ He shoved another chip in his mouth, trying desperately to get the hunger to subside. His magic swirled with unease and he gagged a bit before shoving another chip down. 

He was so hungry it was making him nauseous. More, more, _more!_ He needed more, if he had more it would stop. He reached into the bag again, only to find it empty. Out of frustration, he slashed at it with his sharpened rock. It wasn't enough, he needed _more_.

It never was enough. No matter what he ate, it never was enough. His magic churned again and he groaned, trying desperately to keep from throwing up. His hand went to his empty eyesocket, tugging sharply to distract himself from the nausea. It helped a little.

He chuckled to himself. That stupid fucking human was leaving him food. He had tried to kill them, and they were _feeding_ him. He kept laughing, tugging at his eye. Stupid fucking human! His laughter dissolved into sobs and he curled up on himself, falling asleep to the nausea and hunger.

\------

The boys had a checkup appointment on Saturday. It was their first checkup since you brought them home. You felt like they were doing alright, but you still were a bit nervous about what Linda would say. You grabbed a few cans of soup and the boys’ carrier, then left with them hanging onto your shoulders.

“I have to stop by work really quick. It won’t take long, then we can be on our way,” You said as you put them in the carrier and loop the seatbelt into the handle. 

“Still feeding that bitty?” Commander asked, a smug look on his face. He had caught you putting extra food into your car and after a staredown, you told him why. You puffed out your cheeks and faked a pout.

“Now look here you little shit, so long as I have food and the ability to leave it under a bush for who knows what to eat, I’m going to do it. Someone has to…” You stick your tongue out at him. 

“You’re too kind. One day you’re going to get hurt,” He said matter-of-factly and scowled at you. You laughed and turned into the parking lot.

“Yeah, yeah. It’s a good thing I have such a strong skeleton looking out for my well being. I don’t know what I would do without you. Be right back.” You grabbed the soup and got out of your car, but not before catching the dusting of red on Commander’s face.

Soup deposited and empty shredded chip bag picked up and thrown away, you continue your journey to the next town. The boys were more quiet than usual and after a while you got a bit worried.

“Still doing ok in there?” You asked, glancing over at the carrier.

“Y-yeah. S’all good,” Warrior replied. He sounded hesitant and you resisted the urge to pull over and check on them.

“What’s wrong? You know you can always talk to me. I can pull over if you two need a break.”

“No, we are fine. Keep driving,” Commander said. He sighed. “We are just… concerned.”

“Concerned?” You asked, and frowned. 

“What if the doctor does not think we are doing well enough? Will she take us away? I… I don’t want that to happen. We… We will be able to stay with you, right?” The unsure tone he took almost broke your heart.

“Hey, don’t think like that. I would never let anyone take you guys away. I’m nervous too, but I think it will all be fine,” You glanced down at Commander in the carrier and smiled. “She’s just going to tell me how amazing you guys are doing and I’ll end up hurting my neck nodding the entire time.”

Commander chuckled. “Yeah, sure human.” His facial features softened. “... Thank you.”

“Anything for my little guys.”

\------

You carried them in on your shoulders. Once you are shown to the exam room, you helped them down onto the table. Warrior shifted uncomfortably and tucked himself behind Commander.

“Warrior, it’s going to be ok. Me and Commander will keep you safe,” You said, giving him a small pat on the back.

“... Ok,” He nervously grinned at you but melted into your hand as soon as you started rubbing your thumb on his head. He was so distracted that he didn’t even jump when Linda came in.

“Good afternoon! How is everything going?” She asked and smiled at you. She set down a folder and pulled a rolling chair over to the table. “How are you boys?”

Both boys nervously looked at her and said nothing. You waited a few seconds before you spoke up. “They’ve uh… They’ve been doing good. Been eating on their own and getting around ok. Commander gets pain in his legs every once and awhile, but usually a bath or a heating pad helps.”

“Oh that’s good that it goes away. It might get worse as the weather changes. You can powder up a painkiller pill and mix it into food or drink if it gets too bad. Only one though. Can I touch you?” She asked, gesturing to Commander. “I need to be able to exam you, if that is alright for you?”

Red sweat dripped down his temple. He looked nervously back at you and you gave a small smile and nod. He turned back and nodded at Linda.

She very gently picked up one of his arms, and measured it. Then she measured his sides, and finally his neck and head. By the time she got to his head, he was shaking visibly. You reached out and gently rubbed his back. He let out a breath he was holding and sighed.

“Good job. Now I need to weigh you. I can put you in the scale or you can have your owner do it,” She said. Commander looked up at you and you smiled.

“Alright, I’ve got you buddy,” You said and put him on the scale. Linda hummed and wrote down the weight. 

“One thing left, I need to see your legs and chest,” She said as you set him back on the table. His face flushed red and he glanced down. “It will be quick, I just want to make sure you don’t have any cracks and your legs are healing ok.” He nodded, and pulled off his clothes.

Linda took a penlight and examined his chest and legs. You kept your hand on him the entire time, supporting him the best you could. He kept his eyes closed and leaned against you, face still red. 

“Alright, all done! You can get dressed,” She said. You held out his clothes for him to pull on. Once he was dressed, he turned around and held onto your hand. You rubbed his head and chuckled when he cuddled closer.

Warrior sat nervously in front of Linda now. Linda held out her hand and he raised his arm up for her. You were so proud of your brave boy!

When it came time to put him on the scale, you lifted him up to your lips first and gave him a kiss on the top of his head. He giggled a bit and sat still as his weight was taken.

“Alright, you’re doing good,” She said, writing in their charts. “Now I just need to look at your chest, feet and hands. Also I wouldn’t mind looking into your mouth, but from what I can see, you seem to be alright.”

“He eats ok, but food tends to come out where he is missing teeth,” You said, taking his shirt from him. His face was also red, and he looked down in what you thought was shame. “I don’t mind. Nothing a wet washcloth can’t fix. I try to only give him food that is softer. He hasn’t complained about pain in his mouth, but I don’t want to upset his jaw or something.”

Linda nodded. She looked at his chest and hands, then his feet. He shyly opened his mouth and she shined her penlight in to look at the rest of his teeth. “Alright, all done little guy.”

You helped him get his shirt on and gently tucked him next to Commander. Linda wrote a few more things, then gestured to you to sit in one of the chairs. You took the boys to the chair and sat with them in your lap.

“So physically, I’m very impressed. They have gained back enough mass in their bones to be in the normal range, where before they were considered underweight. Their wounds are doing well too and I’m not seeing any issues with the scarring. They might still have pain as the years go on, but considering what they went through, I would say that isn’t bad at all.

“That said, I would recommend working on socializing them better. They obviously aren’t as nervous and scared as they were the first time, but they are far from being fully over their ordeal. Remember, Warrior is an Edgy, his behavior should be more aggressive and crass. Commander is a Boss, he needs to be more in control of situations. The fact that he won’t speak up isn’t ideal. 

“I’m not unimpressed with how far they are, don’t get me wrong, but I would recommend taking them out into the world more and getting them used to situations and strangers. It’s very important for their health. Bitties are emotional creatures, and the more you encourage them to express themselves, the better off they will be.

“As for any pain or soreness they might have, warm baths and heating pads are a great way to go. If it doesn’t go away, try giving them some painkillers, like I said before. Do you have any questions?” She asked, closing the file. You shook your head. “Alright, then you should be good to go. I want to see you back with them in about 6 months.”

\----  
The two cans of soup did nothing. He was still hungry. Still starving. He tugged hard on his eyesocket, trying not to lose the battle with his nausea, trying desperately to keep the food down.

But he failed. After a few rounds of throwing up, he finally was able to get control again. His magic swirled, and he felt like he might pass out. He needed to eat. He was _starving_. He grabbed his sharped rock and pushed himself up. He needed food. It was time to hunt yet again.


	12. The Cracks in His Skull

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Trigger warning: blood, mention of dead animals, vomiting, eating disorders
> 
> I may not reply to a lot of comments but I love every single one of them and I love it when you guys speculate. A few of you are close to what is going on with this little guy. 
> 
> Anyway, enjoy!

You knew something went wrong over the weekend when you changed the water. The water looked red, and next to the bush was a few feathers. You couldn’t help but frown. You thought you left enough food for the weekend. After rinsing the bowl, you dug in your backpack and pulled out the can of fruit.

“What are you doing?” A voice behind you said. You jumped, dropping the can, and spun around.

“Uhhhh… Nothing?” You said to your coworker and gave a sheepish smile. She looked at the can of fruit on the ground. 

“Oh, you’re the one leaving the food by the bush. What are you feeding?” 

“I think it’s a bitty. Don’t tell upper management, ok? I don’t want them to try and catch him and hurt him.”

“Ok. You better hurry or you will be late. See you inside,” She said and left. You tucked the can of fruit by the bush and left for work. 

You can't help but be worried as the week goes on. Each day, you found more and more signs that the bitty is hunting again, despite you leaving larger amounts of food. By Friday, your mind was made up and you had a plan. Before you went home for the day, you stopped by a hardware store.

On Saturday, you woke up early and got the boys ready. You felt bad for leaving them alone on one of your days off but you knew that you needed to do something for the other bitty. Commander was confused but you promised you would explain later. 

The parking lot was empty and you were glad you worked in an area that wasn't busy on the weekends. You parked near the bush and put a bag of chips on the ground, then changed the water. You then went back to your car and waited, newly bought welding gloves on and carrier open and ready.

It took about an hour for anything to happen. You were doing your best to stay awake when you noticed the motion under the bush. A few minutes later and the bitty emerged, dragging the sharp rock with him.

He plunged the stone into the bag, and ripped a hole big enough for him to fit into it. You waited until he was eating the second chip to move.

You knew you had to act fast. You left your car door slightly opened for that reason. You grabbed the carrier and bolted out of the car. You made it the short distance to the bush before the bitty even looked up. Your hands were around him a split second later.

He thrashed and let out a scream. You could feel him trying to shove the rock into your skin, but the welding gloves protected you. Noticing the rock wasn't hurting you, he turned to trying to bite you with dull teeth instead.

You didn't want to hurt him and you could feel your grip slipping with all his trashing, so you quickly put him in the carrier before he got away again. Once he was inside and the door was closed, you peeked in to look at him. 

He screamed and pulled at the door, trying to get it to open. It was then that you noticed the hole in his head. 

You almost dropped the carrier in surprise. The hole was large, taking up almost a third of his skull. His one eyelight snapped to you and he snarled, trying to slash at your face with the rock. You bit your lip. You really couldn’t afford another bill right now.

But what were you honestly expecting? You knew it wasn’t just going to be as easy as catching him and turning him into a no-kill shelter. That didn’t work last time. You sighed and put the carrier in your front seat and buckled him in. Time to go see Linda again…

\----

When she came in the room and saw you, she looked worried. “Everything alright with the boys?” She asked.

“Yeah,” you replied. “Got myself another stray. Found him by my work. He looks like he is really hurt and I was wondering if you could do something for him.”

She hummed and pulled on a pair of leather gloves. The bitty started snarling as she got closer. You were worried that he would get away once she got the carrier door open, but she was quick enough to grab him. Her usual smiling face fell.

“Oh no…” She muttered. Your heart sunk. She rotated him and looked him over the best she could with him flailing and trying to get away. It was only about a minute of looking him over before she put him back. She pulled off her gloves and showed the one she was holding the bitty with to you.

“Do you see this white powder? It’s dust. I don’t know exactly how he is still alive, but his body is falling apart. That hole in his head would have been enough to kill him, but for some reason he isn’t dead. I’ve only seen a similar case in one other bitty.

“That dark socket most likely is completely blind. I would usually hold off on saying that since bitties can control when their eyes light up, but the other one is fully lit so I assume he can’t manifest an eyelight in that socket anymore. He looks like a Sansy type, but he’s all wrong…” She trailed off.

“I’ve been trying to keep him fed at least, but no matter how much food I leave, there is none left,” you mentioned, trying to be helpful. You didn’t like where this was going. She frowned and took out a small device that looked like an infrared thermometer. She pressed the button and aimed the green dot of light at the bitty.

“It’s worse than I thought…” She sighed. “I’m going to recommend putting him down.”

“You can’t do what you did for Commander and Warrior?” You asked. You felt sick to your stomach. You couldn’t give up on him! What if you gave up on your boys?

“No. That wound is not fresh and I can’t close something so large. His body is dusting. His magic is completely unstable. The humane thing would be to put him down. Even if you were to try and stabilize him, I don’t think it would do any good. Again, I have only seen this one other time and that case was not nearly as bad. If you don’t want to put him down, I can send you home with the same food I sent you home with when you took the other two home. I don’t know if it will do any good. It’s up to you,” She looked at you. 

You felt tears welling up. It wasn’t fair. Why couldn’t you find bitties that weren’t so hopeless? Why couldn’t you find a lost bitty, or one that ran away? Not life or death cases…

“Lets try the food,” you said, voice wavering with unshed tears. She nodded and left. While she was gone, you looked in at the bitty. He was hunched over and curled up on himself, breathing heavily. You have to look away.

“I mixed a bit more healing magic and nutrients in then last time. Maybe that will help. Give him one syringe full in the morning and at night. Let me know how it goes for you,” She said and showed you up front. 

You want to say you didn’t cry on your way home, but that was a lie. He was quiet the entire time and you were worried that he had died while you were driving, so at every stop sign or light, you checked in on him. He was still curled up in a ball, but at least he was alive.

“I’m home,” You said as you got in the door. Warrior perked up from where he was on the couch. He paused the video he was watching on the tablet. 

“W-welcome back,” he said, grinning. You felt the stress of the day melting just from looking at him. You set the carrier on the coffee table and sat down next to him, holding your hand out. He climbed into your hand and you peppered him with kisses. He giggled and hugged onto your fingers.

“Where’s your brother?” You asked him, giving him soft head rubs. He stretched and leaned into your affection.

“W-Went ta nap. He’s k-kinda upset ya left today an’ d-didn’t tell him why,” He looked at you. “Why did y-ya leave?”

Well now you felt guilty. You never meant to hurt Commander’s feelings, but you knew he would be against you trying to catch the other bitty. You set Warrior on your head and went to the bedroom.

Commander didn’t even make it to the cube for his nap. He was curled up in the center of your pillow. You heard a faint sniffle and your heart almost broke. You sat down next to him.

“I’m sorry Commander,” You said. He curled up tighter. “I… I really should have taken the time to talk to you about where I was going. I wanted to get to my work’s parking lot as soon as possible to try and catch that other bitty before he got hurt and I didn’t think how you would feel about that.”

He sniffled again and muttered something. You wanted to pick him up and cuddle him, but from past experiences you knew better. You sat there, waiting in silence. Finally, he sniffled again and sat up, pulling his knees to his chest the best he could.

“I t-thought you were going to l-leave us….” he muttered. He wouldn’t look you in the eyes. You had forgotten that he was so unsure of himself because he seemed to be doing so well.

“I would never. I’ll be annoying you two for as long as I live. Can I pick you up?” You said quietly. He hesitated, then nodded. Once he was in your hands, you give him the same peppering of kisses to his skull that you did with Warrior. He hummed and wiped a few stray tears away from his eyes, then smiled.

“Alright, lets see this other bitty,” He said softly. “Obviously it was important enough for you to leave early on a Saturday.” Warrior laughed from his place on your head. You helped Commander on your shoulder and walked to the living room.

\----

He couldn’t believe he got caught. He knew he shouldn’t have taken the food. He knew it was a trap! 

He curled up tighter on himself, the hunger pains throwing his magic into chaos again. He was doing his best to keep down what little he ate, but it was too much… It wouldn’t stop!

The human was back again and talking quietly to someone. He didn’t care. He just wanted the pain to stop! The door opened and a hand went around him again. He screamed and threw up, his concentration gone from keeping down any of the food he ate earlier.

“Oh sweetheart…” He heard. It didn’t matter, he didn’t want any damn pity! He fought and bit at the hand, choking slightly on the acidic taste of his own foul magic on the glove. 

“N-nasty.” He heard someone else say. He clenched his eyes closed, trying with all his soul to keep from throwing up again. It hurt, everything hurt! He opened his mouth to scream, but the scream was cut off by something being put in his mouth. A thick milkshake like liquid filled his mouth and he swallowed it eagerly, hoping it would fix his hunger.

It didn’t. Nothing helped. He was so. Damn. Hungry. He lashed out, trying to bite and scratch at the hand. The hand put him back in the cage and closed the door. He screamed again, curling up in the corner. 

“He’s too violent. I don’t think he should be kept here.” A third voice said. 

“They were going to put him down at the shelter. I just want to try, you know?” It was the first voice again. He didn’t care, he didn’t care, he wanted the pain to stop! 

“Still. I don’t want him hurting you.” The third voice said. He lost track of the conversation after that, too preoccupied with keeping down whatever he was forced to eat.

Over the next few days, the human tried to feed him the strange liquid and hold him close to their chest, but he fought them every single time. Each time he ended up throwing up. They would have to change the bedding in the cage and would put him in a different cage while they did it. 

Nothing helped. Nothing made the hunger stop. He just wanted the pain to stop. The human had just left for the day, leaving him in the cage. His magic swirled with unease as he did his best to keep down the liquid the human gave him. He whimpered and yanked at his eyesocket, begging that just this once… Just this once he would be able to keep it down.

A clang from the cage door caught his attention. He whipped around, eyelight dilated and unstable. Sitting tall next to the door of the cage was another bitty. 

He had seen the other two bitties several times when the human was feeding him and trying to hold him, but they never spoke to him and he never cared enough to say anything to them. Anything dumb enough to live with a human willingly was not worth his time.

"You're causing a lot of trouble," said the other bitty. His arms were folded and he was glaring down with an air of superiority. The caged bitty started growling. 

"Stop it with the tough guy act. Throwing a fit won't get you anywhere. Can't you see the human is _trying?_ What do you think you're going to gain by fighting them?" He stared at the caged bitty, waiting for an answer.

Stupid! This was stupid! He was starving, couldn't they _see_ how much pain he was in? And he was expected to play _nice_?

"I didn't ask for help!" He screamed back, fists curled into tight balls. "I didn't ask for your stupid human to play hero!"

"Regardless, they wanted to help you. Your experience here is completely in your control. What do you want from it?" The other bitty didn't even flinch at his hoarse screaming. He just sat there, staring down with a calm expression.

"I want to die damnit!" The cage bitty screamed. He paused to bite back a wave of nausea. "Look at me, do you think I'm ok living like _this_? I want to die!"

The other bitty's face softened and he scooted closer. "Nobody wants to die. They just want the pain to stop. You don't really want to die, do you?"

Of _course_ he didn't. He didn't fight for this long for the hell of it. But the pain, the pain was too much for him to take anymore. He gave a soft whine and turned away, throwing up the liquid and magic mix. He gasped and huffed, trying to calm himself down. 

"Give my human a week. Don't fight them on anything. Let them feed you, let them hold you, do not attack them. If it doesn't get better within a week, I will push them to have you destroyed. Is that fair?" The other bitty said. "No more pain. Either way the pain goes away."

No more pain? He'd been in pain for so long that he didn't know what that would be like. He didn't have anything to lose. He gave a soft nod and wiped at his mouth, retreating back to the back of the cage.

\-----  
At this point, you were not surprised that the Sansy bitty had thrown up. You slipped on your welding gloves and gently grabbed him, moving him to the spare carrier that you bought a few days ago. You cleaned up the vomit and put new bedding in the first carrier, your heart in your chest.

He wasn't getting better. You knew he wasn't getting better. Your gloves were constantly covered in fine silty dust and you weren't even sure if he was keeping anything down. Still, he was alive, and he didn't seem like he was getting _worse_.

You filled the syringe with his food and took a breath. Feeding time was always a struggle. You were doing your best but with how much he struggled, it was hard to get a full syringe in him. It was even more impossible to give him the proper soul time that you were sure he needed. You grabbed the winter coat you used to keep him from biting you when you attempted soul time.

The boys were used to this routine by now. You would get home from work, change bedding, get food in the Sansy, and try to get some bonding in, then get dinner going for the rest of you. Warrior was playing a game on the tablet and Commander was watching, but glancing over at you every few seconds. He usually kept a close eye on you.

"Alright little guy. Dinner time," you said, reaching into the backup carrier. He didn't shy away from you like he normally did. You scooped him up and held him gently but firmly, and prepared for a fight.

The fight never came. He let you slip the syringe into his mouth. It almost scared you how still he was and if it wasn't for the small hands gripping your own, you would have been afraid he was unconscious. His eyesockets closed and he just let you feed him. It was… Eerie.

You took the syringe away after it was empty, and he opened his eyesockets and looked at you. For a moment, you just stared at each other. Finally, you moved him to your chest. The heat of the coat was already starting to get to you, but if you could get 5 minutes of soul time in, maybe he would be ok.

He didn't fight you. He let you tuck him close to your chest without screaming or thrashing. You decided to sit down on the couch with him. Maybe you would see how long you could hold him for. 

You could feel sweat drip down your face. You did have a good winter coat, that's for sure. Commander watched for a few more minutes before tsking.

"Take the jacket off human. I will not have you passing out from overheating," he said, rolling his eyes. Oh this little dude…

"Don't want to get bit," you said back, leaning over with your free hand and pressing a button on the tablet, causing an enemy to explode. Warrior leaned back and looked at you with a smile on his face before going back to the game.

"He's not going to bite. If he bites he will have to face me," Commander said and crossed his arms. He had been grumpy for the last few days. You weighed your options before pulling the coat off and pressing the Sansy to your chest again. Honestly, you were just glad Commander was bossing you around.

You sat there like that for 20 minutes, the Sansy barely moving in your grasp. It really did worry you, but you pushed that feeling away and just focused on being calm and loving. You learned with your boys that they could feel your emotions when they were on your chest. Soul magic and all that jazz or something.

"When are you going to start dinner?" Commander's voice brought you out of your thoughts. You looked down at the Sansy. His eyesockets were closed and he was breathing evenly. That was… new. Usually he would be fighting to keep down his dinner by now. 

"I guess right now," you said and got up. You went to the carrier to put the Sansy down, but thought for a second, and instead pulled off the gloves. You held him next to you while making dinner. It wasn't too difficult to do. He let out little snores as you finished making dinner and serving it to the boys. 

You decided to hold him while you are and even kept him there while the boys got their own soul time. You read to them as you normally did and only stopped when Warrior fell asleep. You looked at your strange little family and your heart swelled with love. 

"It's so weird how he's acting," you quietly said to Commander. He looked up at you and stopped rubbing Warrior's back. 

"I… spoke to him," he said after a moment, glancing over at the Sansy. "He should be more easy to handle for a little bit."

"Oh. Um… what did you say?" You absent-mindedly rubbed at the Sansy's back and set the book down. 

"That's… it's not any of your business right now," Commander wouldn't look at you. For a second, you worried about if he threatened the Sansy or hurt him in any way, but decided it would be better to trust Commander. You gave him a soft pat on the back.

"Alright. I trust you bud. Thanks for helping. You really are amazing. I think… I think he's going to keep down his food tonight," you hoped you weren't jinxing it. Commander beamed with pride at your praise. 

You laid like that, with all three bitties on you until you started nodding off. You sighed and gently moved your boys to their box, then got up and took the Sansy to the clean carrier in the living room. He didn't move as you put him in and put a corner of the blanket on him, but his soft snoring told you he was still ok. You hesitated for a moment, wondering if you should bring the carrier into your bedroom, but decided against it. You didn't want to overwhelm him.

With the Sansy secured and tucked in, you headed to bed. As soon as your head hit the pillow, you fell asleep.

\-----

He woke up in the carrier. It was dark and he could see the moon coming in from the back door. He nuzzled into the blankets more and closed his eyesockets again.

Then it hit him. He wasn't starving. He was still hungry, but he wasn't _hungry_. His magic… was calm. The pain was still there, but it was tolerable. He could handle it. It didn't feel like every fiber of his being was being shattered. 

For the first time in a long time, he started sobbing. He couldn't remember being this comfortable. He couldn't remember a time before the hunger. He couldn't remember who he was before all this, he couldn't even remember what happened to make him like this. 

But for once in the entire time he could remember, he wasn't starving.


	13. Dust and Pastries

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I fell asleep writing the middle of of this if any words are wrong, let me know. Auto correct and all that.
> 
> Enjoy!

He was unprepared for the intense pain. He gasped and curled up on himself, holding around his middle and fighting with everything he had to keep down the liquid the human gave him before he left. It was _cruel_. He had a taste of what less pain felt like and now… now…

He couldn’t take it. He screamed and slammed his head into the bottom of the cage. It was too much. He could feel the unstable magic leaking out of his mouth as he tried to bite back another scream. 

“Are you alright?” He could barely hear the words past the thumping in his own head. He whimpered in response. He would not cry, he would not cry… His heavy panting was interrupted by the rush of foul magic. Usually, when he threw up, he tried to keep it away from himself, but this time he had no chance to angle his head away from his body.

He wasn’t crying. The sobbing wasn’t coming from him. He was strong, he didn’t cry over the pain or vomiting. He wasn’t crying…

“Hang in there….” The other bitty sounded concerned.

\-----

Things had been going so good! The Sansy bitty ate this morning without any trouble. Work was flying by. You got the _best_ Warrior cuddles this morning. You stretched and went on your break.

Once you unlocked your phone, your mood dropped. There were several messages from your boys and instead of the usual sweet ones, they were worrying.

World’s Best Bitties<3: Hey.  
World’s Best Bitties<3: We have a situation.  
World’s Best Bitties<3: The other bitty seems to be doing bad.  
World’s Best Bitties<3: He keeps screaming.  
World’s Best Bitties<3: I just checked up on him. He threw up on himself.  
World’s Best Bitties<3: He’s crying. You know I don’t normally ask you to do this but can you come home?

They were sent to you an hour after you left. You cursed. Another message came in just as you were typing.

World’s Best Bitties<3: please hurry  
World’s Best Bitties<3: he keeps throwin up  
World’s Best Bitties<3: manders in the carrier with him  
World’s Best Bitties<3: please 

You damn near ran to your supervisor. You barely explained to him why you were leaving before you were grabbing your bag and shutting down your computer. You ran out to your car and slammed your door, typing a quick message to the boys before you started your car.

Me: im on my way please stay safe

You totally didn’t speed home. You didn’t get a ticket, so therefore you did not break the law. You parked in your spot and ran up the stairs to your apartment.

The first thing that hit you when you got into your apartment was the smell. Between when you first got your boys and the few days taking care of the Sansy, you knew the smell of magical vomit very well. You dropped your bag by the door and fell to your knees by the carrier.

The door was open and Warrior was next to it, wringing his hands nervously. You looked inside. Commander was sitting there, coated in vomit, with the Sansy in his lap. 

Just as you were about to say something, the Sansy gurgled and gagged, throwing up again. His eyelight was unstable and he didn’t fight against Commander when he wiped at his face.

“Oh jeez, fuck, fuck, what do I do??” You didn’t say it to anyone in particular. Commander looked at you, worry clearly plastered on his face.

“I think…. I-I think he’s dusting…” He held up his hand. On his sleeve of his shirt was the fine white powder. You looked closer and saw more on his hands. “I… he….”

You didn’t know what to do. You didn’t know what you did. What was so different this time than other times or last night? You felt tears pricking your eyes as you took a deep breath. Freaking out wouldn’t do anything but sign his death certificate. You reached into the carrier and took the Sansy from Commander.

“Careful…” he practically whimpered to you. You gave him a nod and pressed the Sansy to your chest. He stunk to high hell and the drying vomit was starting to make him sticky. You didn’t care. He shivered in your hold but didn’t acknowledge you.

“I’ll run you a bath in a little bit,” you said to Commander as he slid out of the carrier. He gave a disgusted face and nodded. You walked to your kitchen and filled a syringe with the liquid that Linda had given you. It took some coaxing, but you managed to get the syringe tip in the Sansy’s mouth. He choked and gagged around the liquid, but you kept going, keeping him as close to you as you possibly could.

Miraculously, he kept it down for a minute. Then two. Then five. After ten minutes, you stopped counting and let out a quiet sigh of relief. Still holding him, you went to the bathroom and filled the shallow bowl you use to bathe the bitties with warm water, then brought it out to the living room. 

Commander had already stripped off his vomit covered sweater and pants and was waiting for you with a sheepish look on his face. You helped him into the water and passed him the cut up washcloth without a word. He scrubbed at himself, seeming to pay most of his attention to his hands. You looked around, looking for Warrior.

“He went to get me clean clothes. And clothes for the Sansy,” Commander seemed to read your mind. You nodded and looked down at the vomit-soaked bitty. “He needs to get cleaned. Give him here.”

You pulled off his shirt and shorts, hesitating for a second. “What if he throws up again?” You asked. For the first time since you caught him, you were able to get a good look at him.

His bones were more thin than Warrior or Commander’s when you first found them. You looked closer and noticed he was covered in small hairline fractures. He looked like a delicate china doll that was one small jostle away from shattering. His eyelight was still unstable and unfocused and he didn’t acknowledge you when you undressed him or looked at him.

“Just stay close and don’t be afraid to grab him if he needs you to stabilize him,” he said, holding his arms out. You gently set the Sansy next to him, and he quickly got to work, holding the Sansy up as he scrubbed softly at his bones.

“How much do you know about magic and all that?” You asked. He was a bitty, so you weren’t sure if that was something that they knew from the beginning or if they had to be taught it. He shrugged.

“Enough. I didn’t know how bad it was until I touched him,” He wiped at the Sansy’s face next, running the cloth under his eyes, then across his mouth and nose. The water went from clear, to light blue, to a pastel blue. It took you a minute to understand where the third color was coming from, and then it hit you.

“Is bathing even safe for him? With all the dust and all that, is he… is he going to be ok?” You nervously chewed on your lip. Commander looked at the water, then looked at you.

“He’s not made out of sugar. He’s not melting. The dust that is coming off of him was there before the bath. He hasn’t been clean in a while…” he made a disgruntled noise, rubbing at the Sansy’s hands. The Sansy whimpered and leaned into him.

“H-hey, little help?” You turned around to see Warrior standing on the floor next to you, holding a small pile of clothes. No matter how bad the situation, he never failed to make you smile. You helped him up on the coffee table where he started putting the clothes in two piles.

“Thank you brother. Human, we are ready,” he said. He kept his hands on the Sansy until you had him safely out of the bath and wrapped in a towel burrito, then scotted into your free hand. You wrapped him up in a burrito as well and gave him a very gentle smooch on his head.

“Nyehehe, thank you,” he said softly, looking at you with so much affection that you thought your heart might stop. He motioned to the Sansy in your arms. “Keep him close. Your soul is the only thing that is keeping his magic from rejecting the food. He’s literally starving to death.”

No pressure. You looked down at the Sansy and pressed him closer. His eyesockets were finally closed. You unwrapped him and gently put on the sweater and pants that Warrior had brought him. He was so small compared to Warrior that you would have thought he was a different type of bitty if it wasn't for Linda. He swam in the clothes that fit Warrior perfectly. 

"So that's what happened this morning? I didn't hold him after I fed him?" You asked. 

"Yes, I think so. I don't know why he reacted the way he did. I know the throwing up is from his magic being unstable," Commander said. He pulled on his clothes. 

You had to alter all his clothes to have a snap on each side and the legs sewed shut where his legs ended. The snaps were there to prevent his pants from sliding off when he was scooting. You suggested a onsie or footed pajamas at one point but he snapped at you that he would rather go naked then be degraded in that manner. 

Warrior on the other hand loved footed pajamas, the softer, the better. He spent most of his day in them. It annoyed Commander to no end to see Warrior dressed in his pajamas the entire day, but he rarely said anything besides the occasional quick comments of how lazy it was. 

"So it looks like I'm going to be a bed for a bit," you sighed. The Sansy had already started snoring. The sight of him relaxed tugged at your heart strings. "You two up for a nap?"

It was a question you knew the answer to before you asked. You helped the boys up onto your shoulder and headed to your bedroom.

\-----

The amount of pain surprised him. He had always been able to pick up on the souls of other bitties. It was how he knew what to do with Warrior when he was upset or hurt.

But this… this was new. He did his best to choke back newly found nausea and held the Sansy, hoping the strength of his soul would keep the Sansy from dusting before the human got home.

No wonder why he was in such bad shape. The Sansy cried in his arms and threw up again. Commander cringed as the vomit hit him, but didn't let go. He could do this. He could hold out until the human got back. 

"H-human's on their way," Warrior said, peaking into the carrier. Commander could tell he was uncomfortable with the situation, but he was still very proud of his brother nonetheless. Warrior was doing so good to push past his fears and help. 

Commander closed his eyes and focused on calming the pained bitty's soul. It was going to be a long day…

\-----

He woke up on your chest. The Sansy had curled up next to him in his sleep, face nuzzled against his arm. He felt Warrior sprawled out on top of him, draped over his middle like a blanket. 

For the first time today, Commander felt himself smiling. If the Sansy lived, he would need leadership and someone to look out for him and Commander was up to the challenge. Plus, he didn't mind having another brother, even if it meant dealing with the possibility of annoying habits. 

The Sansy let out a whimper and curled up onto himself. Commander watched for a moment, then wiggled out from under Warrior. 

Waking you had always been either really easy, or really hard. Some days you woke up to the smallest movement, and other days he would have to yell into your ears for a good five minutes before you stirred. 

Today was one of the light sleeping days. You must have felt him shifting because by the time he had sat up, you were already awake.

"Good afternoon Mander. How was your nap?" You greeted him with a yawn. You cupped him in your hand and he nuzzled into it.

You were a very affectionate human. You showered both him and his brother in kisses and gentle touches. Commander didn't want to admit it but he was weak for the way you rubbed his back. You could make him do anything as long as you have him a back rub before.

He sighed and moved away from your hand. "It was fine. I think the Sansy needs more food." To punctuate what he said, the Sansy let out another whimper.

The human sighed. "I'm going to have to stay home from work for a while, aren't I?" They gently set Warrior to the side and sat up, still holding the Sansy and Commander. Commander pulled himself up on their shoulder and leaned against their neck.

"If you want him to live, yes. If that's not… something you can do then you need to have him destroyed. To keep doing this… having him regress. It's cruel. I know you don't want to hear it but…" he trailed off and looked up at the human's face. His eyesockets widened in surprise. They were crying, but the look of determination on their face said everything.

"I won't. I won't give up on him. I would rather lose my job then give up," they wiped at their eyes and sniffled. "Let's get some food in him."

Commander sighed again and smiled. "If anyone can do it, it would be you." They smiled back him, then got up and went to the kitchen.

He watched as the human fed the other bitty. He still did not open his eyesockets, but he seemed calmer than before. The human finished with the syringe and sat down on the couch with them, rubbing the Sansy's back. 

"So…" the human started. Commander looked at them curiously. They thought for a second before they continued. "What are we going to name him? I… want him to have a name even if… even if he doesn't make it." They sounded sad at that thought.

Commander thought for a bit. He didn't know what this Sansy would be like. He remembered a few in the store he was originally bought from. Those ones were lazy and annoying. He never really associated with those bitties. He never really associated with any type of bitties.

He hummed in thought. He didn't want to hurt the Sansy by coming up with a name that would offend him. The human waited, seemingly deep in thought as well.

"How about…. Chips? No, that's insensitive… Pastry? Oranges? Soup?" The human said. Commander snorted. 

"Are you just saying things you fed to him?" The human's face flushed. 

"M-maybeeee…" they muttered. Commander laughed and patted their neck.

"How did you even manage to come up with our names? Did you get them from that movie we were watching?" He teased. He was surprised when his human's face flushed more. His jaw dropped and held open again before he snapped it shut. "You did, didn't you??"

"Maybe…" Their human laughed nervously. He laughed with them. 

"i… i like pastry…." Came a small mumbled voice. Both Commander and his human stopped laughing and looked down at the Sansy. He looked up at them. He seemed exhausted.

"Oh um to eat? Sorry but you are going to have to keep eating the slush for little bit," the human said. They seemed completely caught off guard. Commander chuckled and slid down the human's shirt. 

"I think that he meant as his name," he said. The Sansy looked at him, unsure for a moment before giving a small nod. Commander reached out and touched the Sansy's shoulder. 

The pain was still there, but not nearly as bad. The Sansy looked away from Commander when he touched him. It almost looked like he was afraid. That wouldn't do at all. 

"I think Pastry is a wonderful name. Good choice brother," he said, rubbing at Pastry's back. The look on your face was priceless. Pastry looked back at Commander, and the flash of hope he saw across the smaller bitty's face confirmed that his choice was the right one.


	14. Replacement

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Guess who can't sleep? Have a chapter to celebrate the fact that my sleep schedule is fucked.

You were lucky enough that your work let you take a week off. As much as you were willing to lose your job for Pastry, it would make things a hell of a lot more difficult. Your boss was very understanding. You didn't exactly tell him that you were nursing a sick bitty, but considering that you considered your bitties family, it wasn't fully a lie. 

Speaking of Pastry, you were pleasantly surprised how well he was doing. Four days into your improv week off, he was already doing better. He hadn't thrown up since the day you rushed home. He was still very quiet and the cracking on his head seemed to have gotten bigger since that day, but the dust coming off of him didn't seem to be as much.

Commander seemed to take a great liking to him as well. He held Pastry constantly when you weren't holding him. He even started coming into the kitchen while you cooked to make sure Pastry had some place to lay when you were needing both hands. 

Warrior seemed wary of Pastry. He offered his clothes to the other bitty but beyond that he seemed to not want anything to do with him. They never slept close together. Even during the time you would spend reading to them, Warrior put himself on the other side of Commander and as far away from Pastry as possible.

You figured it was because he was nervous about having a new bitty in the house. You figured you would give him time before bringing it up. You had other things to worry about.

Pastry squirmed in your grip as he woke from his morning nap. In the last two days you noticed he would wake up and not know where he was at first. You waited for his eyes to open.

"Good morning Pastry. You're safe, you're at my apartment and I am taking care of you," you said quietly to him. He stared for a few seconds before nodding. If you didn't say anything, he would spend a minute trying to fight against you. You don't know why telling him where he was did any good, but you weren't going to question it.

Commander looked up from his word search puzzle and scooted over. You handed the sleepy Pastry into his awaiting arms and got up.

"I gotta do some chores. I really should go get some groceries too, but I don't want to leave you guys alone too long," you sighed, running your hand through your hair.

"Don't worry about it, he's stable enough to have you leave for a bit," Commander said, waving you away. "Go get groceries. I want fresh cucumbers anyway. What would you like?" He asked Pastry.

Pastry opened his eyesockets again and peered out from Commander's embrace at you. "danishes. and bear claws. donuts. uhhhh… those things filled with cream cheese."

You snorted. "I think those are danishes. You're living up to your name I see. I'll grab you something, but you're still on slush for a few more days."

"gee my favorite…" he muttered and nuzzled his face into Commander's chest. Commander gave a soft laugh and patted his back.

"And maybe some clothes that fit him. His shorts keep falling down," to emphasize his point, he yanked Pastry's shorts back up over his hips. Pastry only grumbled in response.

List made, you bid farewell to your bitties and left to go shopping. When you left, Warrior was nowhere to be seen. You figured he went to lay down for a nap.

\-----

He could tell when he wasn't wanted. He could tell when he was replaced. He scrubbed at his eyes and tied the last of the food to his back. 

Two days. It took you two days to fall head over heels in love with Pastry. He couldn't blame you. Pastry could talk right. He didn't make a mess when he ate. He slept through the night without any issues.

He expected you to replace him. From the moment you took him in, he was waiting for it. He was damaged goods. He remembered being at the bitty store and seeing bitties come back damaged. Nobody wanted them after that. He always found it funny that a bitty would let itself get damaged but now… now he understood.

You replacing him didn't really hurt too bad. Yes, it hurt, but he could have handled it if his brother- no. If Commander didn't replace him. He didn't even think Commander saw him as his brother anymore. He saw the way Commander held Pastry. He used to be held like that… 

But now he was replaced. It hurt so much. He pulled at the screen on the window in the human's bedroom until it tore out of the frame. It would be a long way down, but he was prepared with a small ball of yarn. He tied one end to the blinds pull string and tossed the ball out the window. It fell, unraveling on the way, and bounced gently into the grass.

Good, there was enough. He took a deep breath and looked at the human's bedroom one last time. Before he lost his nerve, he grabbed the yarn and started the long descent down the back of the apartment. 

It struck him as ironic and somewhat poetic that he was running again. He guessed it was in his nature. By now he figured it was what he did best.

After a while his feet hit the ground. He paused to catch his breath, and then began walking. 

\-----  
You came back with an armful of groceries and a grin on your face. You had managed to score a good deal on snacks and found some cute clothes for Pastry. Commander looked up from his puzzle as you came in and saw your face.

"Nyhehehe, good shopping trip?" His laugh always made you smile. You nodded and set your bags down in the kitchen.

"Yeah, good deals. Also found you guys some things you might like. How's Pastry?" You said as you unpacked the bags. 

"He's doing fine. He fell asleep sometime after you left. Warrior is still napping," you could hear the smile in his voice. "They're very similar. I've never met lazier creatures."

You laughed and grabbed the last bag. "Yeah, clingy too. Not a bad thing though. Do you think they get along with each other?" You sat down next to him on the couch.

"They seem fine together. I don't think Warrior has been around another Sansy type before, at least not this long. Anyway, what did you find?" He looked smug as you rustled through the bag.

"Well since you are doing so well with word search puzzles, I figured I would teach you a few other puzzle types. Ever done Sudoku or fill-ins before?" You asked. He shook his head and you grinned, pulling out the small book. "I'll show you how later. I also found some smaller clothes for Pastry, including…" you trailed off and pulled out a small shirt that had 6 donuts on it and said 'working on my 6 pack'.

"Oh no…" he said, putting his head in his hand. It didn't stop you from seeing the grin on his face though. "That's horrible, please tell me you found more appropriate clothing than that."

"Oh I did," you said, a smug smile on your face. You pull out another shirt that said 'you had me at croissant' with a picture of a croissant on it, a pair of sleep pants with cupcakes on it, and a pair of footie pajamas covered in tacos, pizzas, and donuts that said 'here for the food' on the back.

"Those are… the most insensitive clothes I've ever seen," he said, staring at you. You let your smile fall and looked down at them. Ok maybe you did go too far…

"nah. i think eat is grate. i don't really carrot all. im just eggcited to have new clothes," Pastry gave a lazy smile before being dumped out of Commander's lap and on the couch.

"Do NOT start," Commander groaned, the stern look on his face priceless. You and Pastry both giggled. He saw the look on your face and opened his mouth to speak, but you cut him off.

"Don't drive him nuts Pastry," you said. Pastry's grin grew.

"you have a snack for this."

"I have a lunch this will end badly."

"i say we go lentil he makes us stop."

"I think he will with tyme."

"i wonder how long he will lettuce-"

"HUMAN, PASTRY, I DEMAND YOU STOP!!" Commander shouted and you both dissolved into giggles.

Once you got ahold of yourself, you pulled out a sampler pack of gourmet mustard. Commander looked at it and smiled.

"He'll love it. You'll have to fight to get him to eat anything else," he chuckled. You smiled back.

"Anyway. Chores. Gotta get the kitchen and living room clean. Let me know if you two need anything," you said, getting up. Commander nodded. You watched Pastry climb back into his lap before you turned and went to the kitchen to clean.

\-----

He had no idea how long he was walking. The streets all looked the same. He did notice that they were becoming more busy, and more humans were walking on the sidewalks. He hid under trash and in alleys, planning where he walked carefully.

Still, he was getting tired. He wanted to keep going. The more distance he put between him and the human's apartment, the better. His feet ached, and for the first time in a long time, he felt the pain from the missing digits in his toes. He stopped on the edge of an alley to rest, using a discarded can as something to hide behind.

He closed his eyes. Did you notice he was gone yet? Did you even miss him? Did _Commander_ miss him? He wrapped his arms around himself. He thought… he thought he was more important to Commander.

Exhaustion hit him hard and he struggled to open his eyesockets again. It was probably a good idea to rest for a bit. He slumped against the wall, losing the fight to stay awake. He would have completely fallen asleep if it wasn't for the hand that grabbed him.

Fear slammed into his soul and his eyesockets flew open. He bit down on the hand out of instinct but he wasn't able to do any damage due to his missing teeth.

"Huh," said the human. Warrior started to hyperventilate. The human didn't set him down and instead held him until he got to a car. He got into the passenger side.

"You got a box?" He asked the driver. "I just found a street bitty that's been filed already."

"Oh nice," the other man said and reached behind the seat. He pulled out a fried chicken box and handed it to the first man. "He'll be good to train against."

The first man shoved Warrior into the box and closed the top. Warrior sobbed and curled up on himself, losing track of the men's conversation within seconds. 

He should have never left.

\-----

It's dinner time when you noticed he was gone. You just figured he was really tired. Some days he was more exhausted than others. You don't even notice the yarn on the pull string until after you check the fabric cube for him.

Commander was still out in the living room with Pastry. You check under the blankets in their cube before moving to your bed.

That's when you noticed the sticky note on your pillow. The writing was shaky but the message was clear. You felt your blood turn to ice when you read it.

_gotta move on  
sorry -w_

You stared at it, hoping there was more of an explanation than what was on the paper. Movement caught your eye and you finally saw the yarn. Everything clicked into place.

You felt like you were dying. You couldn't breath. You couldn't see. You don't know how but you end up on the floor with your knees pulled tightly to your chest.

_gotta move on_

No. No. NO. NONONONO _NO_. Warrior, your sweet Warrior, who greeted you to smiles and neck cuddles in the morning was gone. Your sweet boy who covered everything in mustard and piled bubbles on top of his and Commander's head during bath time was _gone._ The bitty that you caught looking up puns on your tablet and occasionally stole your softest socks to line the cube with was _GONE._

You must have been making a lot of noise because the next thing you know, Commander was petting your shoulder. You had no idea when he got there or how long you had been sobbing for, but the sight of him caused you to hyperventilate. How could you even begin to tell him?

"Human? What's wrong?" His voice only made you sob harder. He waited a minute before trying again. "H-human?" For the first time in a long while, he sounded so small. 

"W-w… Warrior…" you choked out, showing him the note. He held it in his hands and for a second you thought he would start crying. Instead, fury flashed across his face and he crumpled the note, throwing it across the room.

" **I'm going to fucking murder him** ," he said, his voice sending shivers down your spine.


	15. Dog Fights

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Trigger warning: blood, injury, descriptions of violence
> 
> Sorry this took so long. I took in a new rescue and she's been my whole world for a week. Her tail wagging gives me reasons to live. Her escaping the yard gives me reasons to freak the fuck out.
> 
> Also sorry it's not very long. Health issues and all that jazz.

Warrior cried through the first night. He didn't care if the other bitties in the room heard him. A few of the friendlier ones tried to calm him down, but he kept to himself and pushed his body as far back in the cage as possible.

Days past. How many, he didn't know. There was no light in the room besides a lightbulb in the ceiling that never shut off. He tried to keep time by when they were fed but it was never consistent. 

He knew that there was no chance that he would be found. He knew that his life was over. He would have given anything to go back to the human and Commander, even if it meant he was ignored. 

Humans came and went, pulling bitties out of cages and putting them back in. They never went for him and while he was glad that he wasn't getting hurt, the anticipation was killing him. He knew it was coming. He knew what this place was.

The door opened. The sounds of dog barking and a cheering followed the human in. Warrior curled up, trying to hide in the shadows of the cage. The human wasn't there for him though, and instead put a bitty in the cage next to him.

Once the door to the room closed, the other bitty started talking. 

"HELLO! ARE YOU OK THERE NEW FRIEND? I'M PAPY, WHAT'S YOUR NAME?" The bitty was too loud, too new. Warrior glared at him over his shoulder and moved to the opposite corner.

"SHY? THAT'S OK. I CAN DO THE TALKING FOR BOTH OF US NYEHEHE!" he beamed. Another bitty from a few cages down threw a rock out towards the Papy's cage.

"Shut it 'less you wanna die sooner," came another voice. The Papy's shoulders slumped a bit and he sat down.

"I JUST… I ONLY… wanted to make friends…" the last part was a mutter, barely audible over the sound of other bitties crying and the fight going on outside the room. Warrior grumbled and sighed.

"Warrior," he said. He was going to die anyway so why not be nice for a little bit. It wouldn't hurt anything. The other bitty blinked and stared at him.

"WHAT?" Warrior cringed at the loud voice and got up.

"My name. An' keep yer voice down," he said and sat in front of the other bitty. "Last thing ya want is to call attention to yerself." He forgot how long he had been here but in that time he knew two things.

He was going to die and the ones who were the loudest died first.

\-----

It had been almost two weeks since Warrior had run off and you were starting to lose hope. You didn't stop looking, but you knew in the pit of your stomach that it was useless. 

You called into work yet again. Your attendance was horrible. You were pretty sure you were going to lose your bonus and raise, if you managed to keep your job. You couldn't help it though. You were a mess.

You cried a lot. You tried not to. You tried to stay strong. You knew you needed to stay hopeful and confident, if not for yourself but for your two remaining bitties.

Commander had yet to cry. You honestly were pretty worried about him. He wasn't as bossy and even when you pushed him to be more demanding, he just… gave up on whatever he needed. 

Pastry blamed himself. His memory was foggy on who Warrior even was, but he knew he had something to do with his disappearance. Commander wouldn't let him stew on it though, and insisted that Pastry not leave his sight at any point. 

The only good thing about the two weeks was that Pastry was not in a dangerous place anymore. He was eating normal food and besides needing to spend time with you after each meal and memory issues, he seemed to have come out of the ordeal without any true issues. You were glad for that, but you still felt empty inside. 

"Where are we checking today?" Commander asked. You looked up at him from your phone and frowned.

"I don't know. Nobody has gotten back to me on the posters or listings. I honestly… don't know," you said, biting at your fingernail. "I… hate to suggest this but do you think it's possible that he was found by your last owner?"

Commander stiffened up at that. His eyelights shrank to small pinpricks and he wouldn't say anything for a minute. You were going to apologise but he spoke before you could.

"I… don't know. That is a possibility. He… I don't know where he lives… or his name," he looked away from you. "He didn't ever really interact with us besides to feed us or…"

"hurt you," Pastry finished for him. Commander absent-mindedly scratched at his legs through his pants and gave a short nod. "cool cool, so what's the plan? we find this guy and fillet him?"

Pastry was aggressively protective over Commander. You actually found it kind of sweet and Commander didn't seem to mind. You gave him a smile and rubbed the side of his cheek. "You're too small to fillet a full grown adult."

"don't know until you try."

"I… I know his cousin's name. She was… my original owner…" Commander mumbled, rubbing harder at his legs. Pastry noticed and obviously decided the best way to get Commander to stop was to flop on top of his legs. Commander glanced down and started rubbing Pastry's back instead. "Her name was Hannah. Hannah Williams."

"Thank you for telling me, that was really brave," you said and kissed him on the skull. It only took a few searches and showing him profile pictures to narrow down what Hannah was his previous owner.

"so are we going to show her a knife time now?" Pastry asked, his eyelight out and grin big. You laughed and shook your head.

"No, now I'm going to send her a message on Facebook and see if she will respond. Then if she wants to meet up, you two are staying here," you said. Pastry pouted. 

"awww you never let me have fun…" he grumbled. His protests died when Commander scratched the back of his neck and head. He leaned into the attention. 

"Hannah wasn't… bad, per say. I just wasn't… wasn't what she wanted. That was really my fault," Commander said. He stared down at your bed. You were about to tell him that it wasn't his fault, but then he spoke again.

"I had been at the shop for so long. I was the only one there that was my… type? Humans don't want a pet that tells them what to do. They didn't want me… so I acted different. I played nice. Hannah took me home and was nice to me. I thought… I could be myself around her…

"But she didn't like it. She didn't like me telling her what to do. She didn't like _me_. I tried to be what she wanted, I really did," he looked up at you with wide eyesockets, his face twisted with emotion. "But I couldn't so she gave me to her cousin…"

"fuck her," Pastry said, his voice muffled by being face first in Commander's legs. "you're great. better than she could ever be. I hope she dies a slow and painful death by being eaten by a thousand eats."

"I agree with Pastry. Except that last part, what the fuck little dude?" You said. He giggled and shrugged. Pastry had a very sick sense of humor but both you and Commander accepted him for all his weirdness. 

Commander sighed and stopped scratching Pastry's neck. "I just… maybe this all wouldn't have happened if I hadn't lied about who I was." He clenched his jaw. For a second he looked like he was about to cry, but he didn't. 

"Hey," you said softly, running your fingers down his back. "Everything that happened led me to you guys. If you acted differently I would have never found you. I know it sucks and I hate all the bad things that happened to you, but I would have never thought about taking in you and Warrior if it wasn't for your conditions. I would have never had the courage to try and save Pastry I didn't have the experience of taking care of you. And Warrior wouldn't have such a good brother. Or Pastry."

"Some brother I am…" he muttered, looking away. You sighed and decided to let it go. Commander was spiraling into a loathing mood again and only Pastry could really work him out of it. Pastry must have felt it too because he wiggled out of Commander's lap and stood up.

"nap time," he declared. "do your human thing with the facebook. we have a date with a blanket." Commander tried to argue with Pastry, but all it took was one pouty look and he was following Pastry back to the cube. 

You smiled. It had been a rough two weeks but at least both of you had Pastry. For such a little guy he sure was good at supporting both of you. You guessed that might have something to do with him being a Sansy, but you weren't sure. You turned back to your phone and started to type out the message to Hannah. Hopefully this led somewhere…

\-----

The human put the Papy back into his cage and left. Warrior waited a few moments before uncurling and looking at his new friend. His breath caught and for a second, he thought he was going to scream.

Papy wasn't moving. His body was covered in orange marrow and his bones were broken in several spots. Cracks zigzagged across his skull and Warrior could swear he was missing a rib.

Warrior choked back a sob. It wasn't fair. Papy was the only good thing here. He was sweet and kind and lit up the place more than the single bulb on the ceiling. 

"H-hey…" he tried. The human had put the Papy in the center of the cage. While the cages weren't too big, they were still big enough that Warrior couldn't touch Papy no matter how hard he stretched out his arm. "Hey w-wake u-up."

Over the next hour he tried to wake the Papy. Other bitties yelled at him and threw things at him from their cages but he ignored him. He just needed Papy to wake up. He just needed to see him smile.

Just when he thought his voice would go out, the Papy groaned. Warrior let out a small cry of happiness. Papy's eyesockets opened a crack and he looked at Warrior. He didn't say anything but after a few minutes he painfully pulled himself over to the edge of the cage they shared and let his head clink against the floor. 

Warrior pulled off his shirt and dabbed at the marrow. Once he found the worst places of open wounds, he tore his shirt into strips and wrapped Papy's wounds. Papy groaned in pain but didn't stop him.

After patching him up the best he could, Warrior laid down on his side of the cage and reached his arm through the bars. He held onto Papy's hand like his life depended on it. Together, both of them fell into a restless sleep. 

\-----

Hannah tried her best to be helpful. She said she had a falling out with her cousin after she found out he dumped Commander on the side of the road. She didn't even know about Warrior or the abuse they had suffered. You ended up sending her a picture of both boys shortly after you got them.

 **Hannah W.:** What the fuck?? What the fuck did he do!  
**Me:** I don't know. They won't talk about it. The vet said the Edgy had his teeth and claws filed down and the Boss had his legs chopped off  
**Hannah W.:** That sick fuck  
**Hannah W.:** Look you probably don't believe me but this isn't what I wanted. I just wanted Connor to keep him for a bit  
**Hannah W.:** I have issues. I needed to work them out. I just got out of a bad relationship with an ex who was controlling  
**Hannah W.:** Abusive controlling. And I wanted a friend. Boss was nice. I liked him  
**Hannah W.:** But then he started being demanding and telling me what to do and I just couldn't  
**Me:** all Boss bitties are like that  
**Me:** didn't you do your research?  
**Hannah W.:** No I didn't  
**Hannah W.:** And that's totally on me  
**Hannah W.:** I was going have Connor take him for a few months. I needed time to get my head straight. I didn't know Connor was going to do this  
**Hannah W.:** I thought maybe he would talk to Boss and explain why I needed him to not act like that. He said he could help  
**Hannah W.:** He's a fucking counselor for gods sake of anything I thought he would just talk things out.  
**Me:** jeez. Do you know where he is? If he has Warrior I'm going to have to kill him  
**Hannah W.:** I wouldn't be too worried. He's been out of the country visiting family.  
**Hannah W.:** His mom is sick. Has been for a while. He packed up shop and went to stay to help with her for almost a month now  
**Hannah W.:** Guess his compassion is only for humans  
**Hannah W.:** sorry I couldn't be much help. I hope you find your little sweetie.  
**Me:** Yeah. Me too.  
**Hannah W.:** Can you tell Boss I'm sorry? If I had known Connor was like that I would have just dealt with my issues.  
**Me:** yeah I'll… try. Have a good day Hannah  
**Hannah W.:** You too.

When the boys woke up, you told them about your conversation with Hannah. You let Commander read the chat log. He got quiet and looked down. You bit your lip and watched him.

"You ok?" You asked. Even Pastry was watching him with a worried look on his face even though he wasn't quite sure what was going on. 

"Yeah," Commander said, staring at his hands. "If it wasn't for her I would have never met Warrior. I can't be mad at her. Let's just focus on finding Warrior." He sighed.

Pastry patted your hand and you leaned down. "who's warrior?" He whispered into your ear. This was a normal thing after Pastry woke up. You smiled and kissed his cheek.

"Warrior is your other brother. He's missing right now but we are going to find him," you whispered back. He smiled back and nodded. Commander turned around and grabbed pastry into a hug. Pastry squeaked. 

"Nyehe, Warrior is a lazybones just like you. He's clingy and likes to hog the bedding," he said. Pastry giggled. "You two will get along perfectly."

Your boys made you smile. Despite the heartache caused by Warrior's disappearance, Commander and Pastry seemed as close as possible. You got up to make lunch and start planning on the areas you were going to search. You would find him. You knew you would. 

\-----

"W-warrior," a whispered voice woke him up. His eyes snapped open and for a moment he forgot where he was. His eyelights landed on Papy's gentle smile and it all came back.

"H-hey. H-how are you f-f-feelin'?" He managed to stutter out. He hated that his stutter was coming back. Papy looked terrible. His face was flushed and he was covered in a sickly sweat. Still, he didn't wince when Warrior touched the cracks on his head. 

"I'm fine. Are you ok dear friend?" Papy asked, his voice raw. Warrior couldn't do anything but nod. He wasn't hurt, Papy was, but if he said anything he was afraid that he might start crying.

The door opened. Both of them yanked their arms back into their own cage. The human stopped at Papy's cage and started to open it. Papy tried to scoot back but his injuries didn't allow him to go far. Just when the human's hand was about to grab him, Warrior spoke up.

"T-take me. Not him, take m-m-me, p-please," he said, gripping at the cage door. The human paused then shrugged and closed the Papy's cage. Warrior did his best to still the panic in his soul as the human's hands circled around him. He fought back the fight and get away. The human pulled him out of the cage and he gave one last glance to Papy.

Papy was sobbing. His smile was gone and he was shaking like a leaf. He mouthed something to Warrior and for a split second, Warrior didn't understand what he said. Papy mouthed it again. Warrior decided in that moment that no matter what happened outside the room, he would fight until his dying breath if it meant sparing Papy.

_I'm scared. Don't go._ Papy's face and words chased away his fear and solidified his anger. He would make them pay for this.


	16. Shelter

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Trigger warning: fighting, wounds. 
> 
> Hi y'all! Been a minute. I've been focusing all my time and energy on my new rescue dog who is doing wonderful and making huge improvements. 
> 
> Anyway, here's a chapter!

The arena was a large box made out of plywood. The walls were too tall for him to climb. Dust coated the ground. Humans crowded around the arena, cheering. They seemed to be in a basement from the looks of it.

Warrior swallowed hard. For a brief minute, he was afraid. Then, his anger rose again. Papy had to fight here. Papy had to defend himself against another bitty here because of these fucking humans. 

Fine. He would play their games. He would fight. He would make them regret ever taking him off the streets. 

He was put in the arena. He grabbed a piece of metal off the ground. It wasn’t too long or sharp, but it would have to do. The man had made sure he didn’t have any way of defending himself. 

“Now for the warm-up round! We have an Edgy against Tank! Tank has won 12 rounds so far and dusted 3 bitties. Place your bets everyone, but remember, this is just the warm-up!” A loud voice came from outside the arena. More cheers and the rustling of money filled the room. 

Warrior looked around nervously. The other bitty wasn’t anywhere to be found. He gripped the piece of metal hard enough that marrow leaked between his fingers. A human leaned over and set down another bitty.

For a split second, his opponent stared at him. Then, the other bitty slammed into him. Warrior rolled, using the momentum to flip on top of the other bitty. His size gave him an advantage of speed over the thicker boned bitty, but he wasn’t as strong. Tank flipped them over, grabbing Warrior’s arm and twisting it behind his back. Dust filled his mouth and eyesockets as his head was pushed down against the ground, Tank on top of him. 

Warrior screamed as his arm was twisted more, dropping the piece of metal. Fear worked its way into his soul. He was going to die. He didn’t even manage to make a scratch on the other bitty and he was going to die. He screamed again in frustration, tears leaking from his eyesockets and making a muddy mess.

\-----  
“Boys, ready for dinner?” You called out. The two of them looked up from the puzzle on the coffee table. You set down their plates and sat down. Tonight’s dinner was chicken, fresh steamed zucchini and roasted red potatoes. Pastry’s plate had a dish filled with ketchup, as usual. The TV ran in the background as you three ate. 

“You guys got pretty far on this puzzle,” you said, putting in a piece. The picture on the box of the cute puppies did little to make you feel good. Warrior’s chest puffed out.

“Of course, what do you expect from the puzzle master?” He asked, picking up a piece of zucchini and eating it. “Hardly a challenge.”

You laughed. “Dude the puzzle is 500 pieces. That’s exactly 499 more pieces than you.” Your dinner tasted dry. All the food you ate tasted bad since Warrior was gone, but you tried not to dwell on it. 

“.... Are creatures created by the Ebott Corp. that resemble tiny monsters. These creatures are a very popular pet and…” the tv droned on. You put another puzzle piece in. Commander looked up from his meal and put down a piece as well.

“Will you be going to work tomorrow?” He asked. You looked at him and hummed. 

“I don’t know. They’ve offered me the ability to go on leave but I don’t think my savings will last that long. I’m out of PTO…” You sighed. “If you need me to stay I will. I really feel shitty for not being able to go out and look for Warrior when I’m at work. It’s… Anyway.”

Pastry cleared his throat. You looked over. Somehow, the little bitty had coated his entire face in ketchup. You blink and then start laughing. Commander groaned and hid his smile behind his hand.  
“woops,” Pastry said, grinning. You got up and headed to the kitchen for a wet washcloth.

“... Fighting ring was busted in the basement of the local diner. Several cages of dogs and bitties were discovered. Most of the animals were taken to the county shelter. Evaluations of the animals will take place, and those who can be adopted out will be. This is the second fighting ring to be broken up in the city since early last year....” You didn’t hear the rest. The blood had rushed to your ears and you could have sworn you were going to pass out. You dropped the washcloth.

A fighting ring. You had heard of them before. You knew that Boss and Edgy bitties often ended up in them due to their aggressive personalities. You tried to push down the thought that Warrior might have ended up in one since he had gone missing, but you knew if he was found, the chances of him ending up in a fighting ring was significant. 

The county shelter. He could be at the county shelter. You could find him. He would be there waiting for you, pissed that you didn’t find him sooner. No, he wouldn’t be pissed. He was too sweet for that.

“... an? ...Uman?” You blinked and looked at the counter. Commander was sitting there, looking up at you worried. Pastry was by his side, most of the ketchup cleaned up off his face. 

“What?” You asked. You felt light headed. You leaned against the counter, trying to steady your breathing. Commander patted your fingers. Even Pastry looked concerned.

“Human? Are you ok?” Commander asked.

“Uh… yeah. I just… I think I know where we can find Warrior.” 

\-----

Warrior hurt all over. His arm and shoulder felt like they were broken. He groaned and shifted in the cage, trying to find a position that didn’t jostle his shoulder with the movement of the van. The van was loud with the sounds of dogs barking and bitties crying. He tried to sit up, but the van turned and he rolled onto his bad shoulder. He bit back a cry and flailed until he could get off the offending spot.

He couldn’t remember much. He remembered screaming and crying. Then, a loud bang. Shouting. Tank was pried off of him and he was put in a cage. Humans were walking out in handcuffs. The van.

Where were they taking him? Was Papy here too? What was going to happen? He knew that bitties that fought too much were put down. Was this how it was going to all end?

He drifted in and out of consciousness. The pain in his shoulder was almost too much to handle. He tried flexing his hand but couldn’t. The numbness and tingling of his magic was bothering. 

When he woke up next, he was in a different cage. The walls were solid except for the front which faced into a medical area. A veterinary clinic then. Other cages were on the floors. Dogs barked from another room. Three humans walked in. 

“You focus on checking the dogs for any injuries. Sam and I will work on evaluating the bitties. If you need help, don’t be afraid to get a volunteer. Some of those dogs are very vicious.” One of the humans with blue scrubs said. A human with red scrubs nodded and walked out. 

“How are we going to know which bitties are too violent to adopt out?” A human with green scrubs asked. He peered into a cage on the floor. 

“For right now, let's just make sure they don’t have any life threatening injuries. I would hate to see a bitty dust because they weren't attended to in time. Start on the ones in the temporary cages. I'll start on the ones in the main cages," the blue scrubbed human said. 

"Yes ma'am," the other human said. He picked up a cage and put it on a table out of Warrior's sight. The other human took a bitty from a cage close to the floor. It looked to be a Sansy type. 

Warrior forced himself up, whimpering quietly at the pain. He needed to find Papy. He needed to make sure Papy's wounds were ok and that he wasn't dust. He scooted to the cage door and scanned the floor for the other skeleton in the cages.

The blue scrubbed human moved by him and for a moment, Warrior fought the soul shattering terror that told him to run, hide, all humans are bad, he was going to die. He swallowed hard and met her eyes when she stood up from where she was securing the Sansy.

"Oh hel-" she didn't finish getting out her sentence before he interrupted her.

"W-where's P-p-papy?" He stuttered out. His eyelights remained on her, sharp and fierce. He cursed his stutter internally. He wasn't afraid. He wasn't.

"Oh you're looking for your friend? I can look for him for you. I need to check on you first though," the human smiled. Warrior shook his head, wincing at the shooting pain it caused in his shoulder.

"P-papy first. T-then m-m-me," he said. The human waited a bit, seeming deep in thought. 

"Ok. But I need to take you out of your cage so you can help me find him. Then you two can go back in the same cage after I patch you up. Does that work?" She was already opening the door. 

"Y-yes," he said. He tensed when she slid him into her hand but didn't fight. He had to stay strong. Papy was probably scared.

The human panned through the cages with him in her hands, letting him look into each one. Papy wasn't on the ones on the wall or the first few cages on the floor. Warrior tried not to be disheartened but he was worried that Papy had succumbed to his wounds. 

Finally he saw red and orange in the same cage. The human held him close to the door and he looked in. Papy's lanky form laid on the bottom, his back to the door. Warrior recognized the crude bandages made from his own shirt. 

"P-papy?" He said, voice wavering a bit. "A-are you o-o-ok?" He didn't know if he was more afraid of knowing the answer or not. The human was opening the cage door.

Papy rolled over. His face was streaked in tears. The flush was darker and he looked exhausted. Still, the moment he saw Warrior, he got up and hobbled over as fast as he could, flinging himself into the strange human's hand and onto Warrior.

"W-WARRIOR, FRIEND! YOU'RE OK!" His voice was loud and hoarse. Warrior gasped and bit back a pained yelp. Papy had landed hard on him, pushing him back on his bad shoulder. Papy went in for a hug but noticed the look on Warrior's face. "Are… Are you ok?" He asked, quieter.

The human was moving them to a table now. Warrior waited until the stars in his vision faded before saying anything. He wrapped Papy in an embrace with his good arm. 

"S-shoulder. T-t-the f-fight," he stammered out. Relief flooded him the moment Papy had come out of the cage and it was leaving him exhausted. He leaned his head against Papy's chest, doing his best to stay awake.

"Alright, let me look at you two," the human said. She gently separated him from Papy. Warrior was going to complain but she set him on a soft towel right next to where Papy was and started working on cutting away the bandages. She cleaned up the breaks and cracks, then bandaged them with clean fresh bandages. Warrior watched, eyesockets half open. Finally, she gave him an oral medication and set him on the towel. 

"Now for you. Your name is Warrior right?" She asked, gently shifting Warrior from the towel to the table. He hummed in response. Her gentle fingers prodded his back and shoulder. "Well it looks like you have a dislocated shoulder. It shouldn't take much to set it back in, but it will hurt and you will be pretty sore for a few days."

"U-UM HUMAN?" Papy looked up at her nervously. "DOES IT HAVE TO BE PAINFUL?"

"There's not much I can do about that. You can help though and that might make it easier? What do you say Warrior?" She said.

He was fighting to keep his eyesockets open. He sighed. What was more pain? He had already felt so much. At least Papy was safe. He hummed again and closed his eyesockets.

"Alright. Papy, sit with your legs crossed. Yep, just like that," she said. He felt her shift his head and chest into Papy's lap. Papy's hand held his good one and for a second he almost forgot what was going to happen.

Then she grabbed the bad arm and pushed on his shoulder blade, rotating the arm as she did. Sharp terrible pain shot through his entire body and he cried out. Papy squeezed his hand harder. It was over in a second but it was enough for him to start crying again.

"I'm so sorry, I know that hurt. It should be fine now and you should be able to use that arm now," she picked him up and a warm wet cloth wiped the dust and tears from his eyes. A syringe was quickly poked into his mouth through one of the spots where his teeth were missing and he felt a small amount of liquid fill his mouth. The pain dulled.

"You… have a lot of old wounds. How long were you in the fighting ring?" He could hear the frown in her voice. He opened his eyesockets a bit to stare at her.

"W-weeks. I t-t-think. T-these a-are from b-before," he muttered. Talking was hard now. All his adrenaline had worn off and all he could do was hang limply in her hands. 

"I'd love to hear about it later," She shifted him back into Papy's arms and picked both of them up. Papy wrapped him into a gentle hug. He was asleep before they were set down in the cage.

\-----

You had called the shelter 3 times the next morning. Due to the amount of animals and bitties taken in, they couldn't provide you with any information and told you to call back later. The third time you heard that and hung up, you decided it was time to head down there.

Both boys were dressed and ready by the time you got off the phone. Commander looked nervous and held Pastry in his lap. The smaller bitty was grinning as usual, but you could tell there was apprehension behind his eyelight. 

You loaded them up in your car and one quiet ride later, had them on your shoulder while you waited in the front office. 

"I'm sorry, but it's too soon to adopt any of the animals seized from the fighting ring. They haven't all been evaluated for temperament and cleared by the vet," the lady at the front desk was saying. You knew she was just trying to do her job but right now you were willing to punch someone just to get a yes or no answer.

"I get that, I really do. I'm not trying to adopt him, I'm trying to see if he is here. He's mine and I have paperwork on him. He got out and has been missing for weeks," you explained, yet again. 

She sighed. "Let me go get my manager," she said and walked through a door behind the desk. You waited for what felt like an hour but really wasn't more than a few minutes. She came back out with another woman.

"Hi, I'm Sadie. I run this shelter. What might be the problem?" She said. You explained the situation once again and showed her your paperwork. 

"Unfortunately I can't let you leave with him yet, but I can let you see him," she said and smiled. 

"Yeah, yeah, I know I can't adopt him yet, I just want to see if he's- wait what?" Your frustration quickly faded. "He's here? How do you know?"

"Well Warrior isn't a common bitty name," she said, pointing to the name on your paperwork. "And we have an Edgy bitty named Warrior. He might be the one you are looking for. Come on back."

Your heart was in your throat. For a second you couldn't breathe, couldn't move. Commander gripped tightly at your jacket and you finally moved, following Sadie past the dog kennels and to a back room with medical equipment. 

"Hey you two. You have a visitor," she said to a cage and reached in, pulling out a bundled up blanket and setting it on one of the metal tables. You bit your lip, hands shaking as you came closer and set down Pastry and Commander.

Red eyelights looked at you for a second, then grew big. He untangled himself from another bitty who was rubbing the sleep from his eyes and stumbled out of the blanket and towards Commander with his arms open.

Only to be met with Commander smacking him in the face. He fell back on his butt, eyesockets wide with shock and hurt.

"What the hell Commander??" You practically screamed. Warrior had been missing for weeks and this is how he greets him?? Even Pastry seemed caught off guard by Commander's actions. 

Commander said nothing and curled up on himself, pulling his legs up to his chest. His shoulders shook. You moved to look at him and realized he was sobbing silently. 

Warrior's face fell and he got up and walked over slowly. He knelt next to Commander and wrapped his arms around his shoulders. 

"I-I'm s-sorry, I'm s-so s-s-sorry…" he whispered. Commander uncurled and held Warrior tightly, burying his face into his shoulder to hide his tears. 

"I have some other bitties to check up on, I'll be on the other side of the room if you need me," Sadie said, smiling at you. You smiled back and mouthed 'thank you'. She nodded and walked away.

Commander calmed down after a few minutes, his face stained with tears. Pastry stood awkwardly to the side, staring at his feet. Finally, Warrior looked up at you. 

"P-please t-take me b-back... I-I'm s-sorry... P-p-p…. P-please," he was fighting back tears. It concerned you that his stutter was back but you pushed that to the back of your mind. You held out your hand and he climbed up into it eagerly. You covered him in kisses until he was no longer looking like a kicked puppy and was a giggling mess.

"Of course. I would never get rid of you. You're too darn cute and sweet. Plus, the mustard, man. There's too much of it and I need someone to get rid of it for me." You were trying not to cry. He saw the look in your eyes and wrapped his arms around your wrist. 

"S-sorry…" he muttered. Shame spread across his face. You kissed him one more time before setting him down on the table. 

"I'm sorry too. Please talk to me when you're upset next time, ok? I can't fix things I don't know about. If you're feeling lonely or neglected, let me help do something about it," you wiped at your eyes. He nodded and looked at the table. 

Then Pastry attacked. You had no idea why he tackled Warrior. You didn't think they were that close. You almost chalked it up to Pastry's bad memory, but then he sat up on Warrior's chest and grinned down at him.

"you hurt commander or the human again and you're going to have a bad time," he said, his eyelight gone. The tone of his voice sent chills down your back. "you'll wish you were found, your death will be slow and painful. i will make sure to break every bone, drain every drop of magic and marrow, and scatter your dust by the dumpster for the birds to shit on every chance they get. got it?" 

Warrior nodded, his eyelights shrunk to pin points.

"good," Pastry said, his own eyelight coming back along with an easy smile. "nice to have you back buddy." He got off Warrior and walked over to you.

"Dude. Not cool," you said, helping him on your shoulder. He smiled innocently at you. Sometimes you forgot how scary he could be. You cleared your throat. "Anyway."

"So it looks like he doesn't have too bad of wounds," Sadie walked over with a piece of paper. "How would you say his temperament is?"

"He's like he was when I had him. Just a little more shy again. He was a rescue to begin with," you said back. She nodded.

"Well then I would rather he go home instead of stay here and get stressed out. I just wanted to make sure there were no temperament changes. I would recommend you see a vet in a week or two and I will send you home with some pain meds. Sign here and I can get everything ready for you. You'll have to pay for the meds and we will charge you a finder's fee but beyond that, you should be good to go," she set the paper down on the table. You took the pen she handed you and scribbled your signature. 

"U-um…" you barely heard Warrior speak. He was sitting up and staring into his lap. "I…"

"What's going on little dude?" You asked. It took him a few tries, but he finally spoke.

"I-I c-can't leave h-him…" he looked up at you with a pleading look in his eyes. You glanced over at the other bitty in the blanket. He was bandaged in several spots and looking at you nervously.

"NONSENSE, FRIEND. I, THE GREAT PAPY, WILL BE FINE!" he said loudly. "YOU SHOULD GO WITH YOUR HUMAN! DON'T WORRY ABOUT M-ME!" He coughed a bit at the end to poorly hide the cracking of his voice. 

"Do you have a human you're waiting for? I can see about getting in contact with them if you know their name," you offered. He looked down at his lap and frowned, a few beads of sweat running down his face.

"N-NO I… I don't have a human…" he admitted quietly. He stayed quiet for a few seconds and looked up, smile back on his face. "BUT DON'T LET THAT BOTHER YOU! I'M QUITE ALRIGHT. WARRIOR, YOUR HUMAN HAS FINALLY COME TO TAKE YOU HOME, DON'T MISS THIS OPPORTUNITY, NYEHEHE!"

You looked down. Warrior was frowning and fidgeting with his hands, but finally looked away and climbed into your hand. You put both him and Commander on your shoulder. Sadie put Papy back in the cage and picked up the paperwork.

"Goodbye friend…." You heard Papy said as Sadie escorted you out. Warrior sniffled on your shoulder as he lost the battle against his tears.


	17. A New Family

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> What, you think I wouldn't introduce a cute new friend and not have it end happily for him? What kind of monster do you think I am?
> 
> No warnings for this chapter besides tooth-rotting fluff. 
> 
> Rescue dog is doing great! She's eating in the dining room with the other dogs now and sometimes when I let her outside, she runs around and jumps like a silly little critter. She's got a long way to go still but I'm getting through!

You made exactly one step outside before you groaned.

“I can’t do this!” You said, burying your face in your hands. You felt the bitties shift on your shoulder.

“Do what? Walk?” Commander asked. You looked at him, and he cocked his eyesocket in confusion. Stupid adorable expressive face…

“No, I can’t just leave that Papy bitty. That’s… Wrong! Warrior finally made a friend and we are just leaving them?”

Warrior sniffled and wiped his eyesockets again. Commander sighed and shook his head. Pastry was busy pulling the strings on your jacket.

“Look human. You already have your hands full. Between us and your job, you can’t take in another broken- ah, I mean… It just won’t work,” Commander folded his arms. Warrior buried his face into the side of your jacket.

“I know, I know. But like… Maybe it could work? He seems sweet enough. I took a chance on you two and Pastry, so I don’t see why it would be bad to take a chance on him. If you think it’s a bad idea though, I won’t take him in,” you gave Commander a small smile. “It’s your call, you know what your brothers need and what I need.”

Warrior peeked his head up for a second and glanced over to Commander before hiding his face again. It hurt your heart to think of what the little guy had been through. Commander sighed harder and groaned. He reached out to Warrior and pulled him into a hug.

“Fine. I’m not too happy about this, but if it makes Warrior happy, I think you should go for it. Don’t blame me if you are overwhelmed.”

“awww hell yeah,” Pastry said, climbing from one shoulder to the other to get to the other two bitties. “look at us getting a new bud.” He hugged onto them both and Commander groaned again.

Sadie was still in the office area when you walked in. You smiled sheepishly at her, feeling awkward.

“So on second thought, we would like to take in that Papy as well,” you said to them. Sadie smiled.

“That sounds great. Unfortunately you can’t take him today but you can fill out paperwork now and come get him in a week?” She was already pulling some documents out of a filing cabinet. 

“A week? We can’t take him home today?” You asked. You set the boys down on the desk so you could fill out the paperwork. Sadie shook her head.

“He’s still very injured and needs observation. If he’s found to be too violent, there is a chance that he can’t be adopted to you. He doesn’t look to be violent but I won’t know for sure until he gets evaluated.”

“Oh, ok. I guess he will have to stay here then. That work?” You asked Warrior. He thought for a moment and shook his head.

“L-leave m-m-me here,” he said, staring directly into your eyes. You had never seen the little guy that determined. You frowned. 

“Bud, I’m not leaving you. I just got you back,” You said. 

“H-he’s alone. B-been for a w-w-while. L-leave m-me,” he had crossed his arms and was glaring. Since when did he get so stand-offish? 

“You’re a selfish ass, you know that?” Commander said, slapping Warrior in the back of his head. Warrior spun around and glared at him. Commander didn’t look impressed at all, and glared right back.

“Alright, don’t fight. Would it be ok if I leave him?” You asked Sadie. You knew that Warrior had a point but it still hurt to know you wouldn’t be taking him home. You had been without him for so long… “And can I visit if I do?”

Sadie smiled. “Yeah, sure. You can leave him. I think it will really help Papy. They seem to be very close. And yes, please visit.” She tucked the paperwork away in a different filing cabinet. 

You sighed and picked up Warrior. “You sure about this, love?” You asked him. He nodded. You gave him a small smile and kissed him a few times. “You’re such a sweet little guy. Don’t get into trouble and be good. I’ll be back tomorrow.” 

He nodded as you handed him over to Sadie’s waiting hands. Commander refused to look up and instead busied himself with adjusting Pastry’s clothing. You scooped them up and held them close to you as you walked out of the shelter for the second time.

It wasn’t until you got into your car that you noticed the damage to your jacket. 

“What the fuck Pastry? I liked this jacket!” You pouted. He smiled and winked at you.

“sew what?”

\-----

He clung to the woman’s hands as she walked into the back. His soul felt like it was going to explode. He shouldn’t have asked to stay, this was a stupid idea, he could be going home right now.

“Not too late for me to call your human back,” the woman said. The idea sounded nice. He almost opened his mouth to ask for her to call the human back, but then Papy’s tearful face flashed in his mind. He shook his head. 

“Well you’re very brave,” she said. She stood in front of the cage and opened it. Papy was nowhere to be seen, but the blanket was shivering. She set him down on the corner of it. “I’ll be by later to feed you guys. Get some rest.” She closed the cage.

Being in a cage scared him. It reminded him of the bad times with the man and the bad times in the fighting ring. He felt the need to run, to get out, to be anywhere but here. He gripped the blanket hard enough to hurt his fingers.

“W-warrior?” Came a quiet voice. He looked over, trying to focus his eyes on Papy. “Why are you back?” 

“F-f-f-f…” Warrior gasped and swallowed, trying again. “F-for y-you.”

Papy looked at him confused, a frown on his face. He looked like he was going to cry. “But your human came back. Please tell me you didn’t give up being with your human for me…” Now he was crying.

Warrior let go of the blanket and crawled over to him. “T-t-they are g-gonna adopt y-you i-in a w-week. I-I’m gonna s-s-stay with y-you u-until t-then,” He gave a small smile and wrapped his arms around Papy’s waist. 

“W-what?” Papy asked. He returned the embrace. He stopped crying for a second before sobbing harder. “I-I get a family?” Warrior smiled and wrapped him in the blanket the best he could.

“Y-yeah, y-you get a f-family.”

\-----

You visited them the next day on your way home from work. You could have stopped to get Pastry and Commander, but you didn’t want to stress out the Papy with too much attention. 

The front desk assistant led you back to where your bitties were and gestured to the cage. “If you want, you can set them on the table. I’ll be up front if you need anything.”

You opened the cage and awkwardly looked in. Bright white eyelights stared back at you before darting away. The Papy shifted under the blanket and you heard quiet whispering. After a moment, Warrior poked his head out from the blanket.

“Hi,” you said, smiling. He smiled back nervously and wiggled his way out of the blanket.  
“H-hi,” he said, and let you lift him up to your face. You gave him a kiss, expecting a giggle but only getting a soft hum.

“What’s wrong?” you asked him, moving away from the cage so you could lean against the table. He looked anywhere but you. His hands worried on his shirt and he absentmindedly pulled at the threads on the hem. You waited, and finally he spoke.

“A-are you m-mad a-at m-m-me?” He was fighting back tears. “F-for e-everything?”

You hummed and rubbed the top of his head. “I’m a bit frustrated that you thought running away was the way to handle things. I’m sad that you got hurt again. But mostly I’m mad at myself. I should have made sure you knew you were loved and cared for.”

He looked at you, eyelights big. “N-no d-don’t be m-mad a-at y-yourself!” He gripped your hand tightly. “I… I t-thought you w-were g-gonna replace m-me…” He sniffled and hid his face in his shirt.

“Do you think I’m replacing Commander by taking in Papy?” You asked him. His head shot up and he shook it vigorously. You smiled and pressed your finger to his cheek, wiping away a tear. “Then don’t think I’m replacing you with Pastry. You are two very different bitties. Plus, there’s no way I could get away with replacing you, Commander would kill me in my sleep.”

“N-no he w-wouldn’t. H-he loves y-y-you,” Warrior said, a small pout on his face. You laughed and shook your head. 

“No matter how much he loves me, he loves you _more_. I’ve never seen him so devastated before. I gave him a cup of soda a few weeks ago and he didn’t complain, he just drank it. He was lost without you.”

“H-he was? W-wait w-what f-flavor of s-soda?”

“Grape.”  
“O-oh shit i-it must’ve been b-bad,” Now he was giggling and you smiled. 

“Yeah. It was. I was tempted to give him some fried potato skins but I didn’t want to upset him more. Without you, I have no self control. Who’s to tell me when I’m feeding your brothers crap when you’re gone and Commander is mopey?”

He snorted and shook his head. “H-hopeless.” He looked back at the cage. “Y-you s-should meet P-Papy. G-gonna be y-yours s-soon a-anyway.”

“Yeah, I probably should. Hang out here for a sec, ok?” You pulled off your jacket and laid it on the table, putting Warrior on it. He gave you a thumbs up motion followed by shooing you forward with his hands. He looked exhausted, but as far as you could tell he managed to escape the ordeal with not too much damage.

Papy was sitting in the corner, hiding behind a hill he had made out of the blanket. As you got closer, you could see that he was watching you with untrusting eyelights.

“Hi, I’m uh… Going to be your new human,” you said, holding your hand out for him. He looked at it, then back at you and seemed to be thinking. After a moment, he crawled into your hand.

“I’M PAPY,” he said. Oh boy was he loud. That was something you were going to have to get used to. “WARRIOR HAS BEEN TELLING ME WONDERFUL THINGS ABOUT YOU! HE SAYS YOU LIKE TO COOK AND YOU READ TO HIM! IS THAT TRUE?”

You laughed a bit. “Yeah, it’s true. I cook a lot more now that Warrior and his brothers are in my life. And I read to everyone before we go to bed.” You set him down on your jacket next to Warrior. 

“CAN… CAN YOU DO THOSE WONDERFUL THINGS FOR ME TOO? IF IT’S NOT TOO MUCH TO ASK,” Papy looked down at his feet, seemingly unable to look at you. You smiled and shook your head.

“Of course. You’re going to be one of Warrior’s brothers now. I’m not going to exclude you from anything. You can even help me cook.”

You could swear that the eyelights turned into stars for half a second. “NYEHEHE I WILL BE THE BEST HELPER EVER!” 

“Y-yup. J-just make s-sure to c-c-cover mine in m-mustard.”

“ABSOLUTELY NOT, FROM NOW ON YOU ARE EATING HEALTHY BROTHER! I WON’T HAVE YOU EATING NOTHING BUT CONDIMENTS!”

Warrior’s eyelights got large and watery. For a second, you were afraid he was hurt. Papy picked up on your distress quickly, and turned to Warrior.

“A-are you ok?” his voice was much quieter now and he was checking over Warrior, especially on his right arm. “Does something hurt?”

Warrior wiped at his eyes. “N-nah it’s a-all g-good. Y-you called me b-b-brother.”

Papy sat up straighter and looked proud. “OF COURSE. YOU ARE MY BROTHER NOW!” 

The display almost had you choking back tears. To think you almost left this sweet bitty behind. You wondered if this was how Warrior reacted the first time Commander called him brother. 

One of the assistants came in and told you that they would be closing up soon and it was time for you to go. You kissed both boys goodbye and put them back in their cage. They said their goodbyes and you left, feeling both good and bad about everything. On one hand, Warrior was safe and you would be having a nice new member for your family. On the other hand, you had to leave them behind and it wasn’t easy. You fought the urge to sneak them out in your coat. The only thing that stopped you was the bandages on the Papy.

\-----

Most of the rest of the week went by similarly. You would get off work, go grab Pastry and Commander, and head to the shelter. All four bitties seemed to be getting along just fine. 

Thursday was different, however. When you got to the back, Warrior was waiting for you by the cage door, but Papy was nowhere to be found. You set down Commander and Pastry on the table and opened the cage.

“Where’s Papy?” You asked. Warrior looked upset. He climbed into your hand and sighed.

“I-I told h-him i-it was f-f-fine but he didn’t b-believe me,” He said, clearly frustrated. “H-he doesn’t w-wanna b-be s-s-seen.” 

You bit your lip and set him on the table next to Commander and Pastry. Pastry had taken a nap on the car ride and was clearly confused as to who this new bitty was. Commander leaned over and whispered something to him and Pastry nodded. 

“Wait, slow down. What happened?” Papy was always very excited to see you. 

“H-he h-had his b-bandages t-taken off t-today. S-scared y-you might not w-want him w-with the s-scars.”

Commander rolled his eyes, arms crossed. “You’re kidding me. Is he blind too?”

You were about to shush Commander when Warrior spoke again.

“I-I said ‘l-look at m-me. I-I’m m-missin’ fingers f-for f-fucks s-sake!’” He huffed and plopped down on his butt, his own arms crossed. “H-he s-said it w-was d-different.”

“oh wow he’s got scars,” Pastry leaned back against the table. “i don’t even remember who anyone is half the time and the human still wants me.” He tugged at his empty eyesocket.

“Alright, sarcasm isn’t getting anyone anywhere,” you said. “It’s not pain olympics. You guys have had more time to deal with your body trauma. Commander, could you?” You gestured to Pastry. He had gotten himself stuck in a tugging cycle. Commander untangled his hand from his eyesocket and gave him a stern look.

“sorry batman.” It had become Pastry’s favorite name for Commander. Commander gave him a light smack on his arm.

You moved back to the cage and looked inside. Papy wasn’t hiding in any of the corners, so you figured he was under the blanket.

“Can we talk?” You asked gently, unsure where to look. The blanket shifted. You waited a minute before you realized. “Did… Did you just shake your head? You know I can’t see you right bud?” 

More movement, then a quiet “nyhehe”. His laugh was so adorable that it took everything you had not to scoop up the blanket and find him. You decided him not saying anything meant you were good to talk again.

“I heard your bandages came off today. That’s really good! That means you’re closer to coming home with us. I remember when I first got to see Warrior and Commander without their bandages on. Their wounds looked really good and I was so happy to see them recovering. I’d love to see how you are recovering.”

The blanket shifted more and you heard a small whimper. 

“Bud?” You asked. “Are you ok?”

“A-are you sure you still want me?” He asked. It was so quiet you almost missed it. “I don’t look anything like I should…”

“I swear on my soul that I still want you, no matter what you look like. Please come out? I want to see you before I have to go home, even if it is just to tell you how absolutely handsome you are.”

It felt like an hour before he finally squirmed his way out of the blanket. His face was streaked with orange tears. His head was littered with fine cracks, healed over but still an angry orange color. You couldn’t see any other wounds, but you knew he had more from what Sadie had told you.

“Wow,” You said. His face twisted with nervousness. “What’s cookin’ good lookin’.” You winked. 

“Nyehehe…” He giggled quietly, face flushed orange. He walked over to you and leaned against your arm, wrapping his arms around it. “Thank you human.”

“Anytime cutie. Now come spend time with your brothers before they get offended.”

\----

Today was the day! You prepared the best you could over the weekend, even buying some new clothes for everyone (and several new outfits for Papy). Your apartment was clean, laundry was done and fresh baked cookies were in the cupboard in ziplock bags. They were on the counter until Pastry had torn into them. You didn’t find out about it until later when he threw up on the couch. He still was unable to eat without having the assistance of soul time later to help him process the food.

The boys are waiting for you in their carrier by the time you get home. You smile and take them with you to pick up Warrior and Papy. Your soul feels jittery and like it is going to fly out of your body at any moment. The drive is too long and too short at the same time. You had no idea why you were so nervous, it wasn’t like you were meeting them for the first time.

The staff had come to know you. They had the paperwork ready for you once you got in the door. You paid the adoption fee (your wallet was feeling much lighter nowadays than usual) and the front desk attendant went into the back. A few minutes later, she came back with your boys in her hands.

“Fancy meeting you guys here, wanna come home with me?” You said and winked. Warrior snorted. 

“S-sure, you s-seem o-ok,” he said, shaking his head with a grin on his face. You took them from the attendant and put them in the carrier.

“Looks like you are all ready to go. Enjoy, and have a good day!” The attendant said.

“Oh I will,” you said. You took the carrier and drove home.


	18. Boiling Point

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Trigger warning: Fighting, a small amount of violence
> 
> Hey you ever just have one of those days where everything piles up on you and then you lash out at your brother because you feel inferior to your new brother? No?

The next two weeks go by as well as you would expect. Papy has settled in. You decided to wait on naming him until you could see more of his personality. Commander doesn’t seem to mind this decision and has not pushed for you to give him a nickname.

Work has gotten worse, however. Some days you have to stay after to finish your share. They won’t hire new people and two other people quit so you are expected to pick up the slack or get talked to about teamwork. You really don’t mind too much because you need the extra money, but the long hours seem to be wearing thin on your bitties.

You can’t really spend the individual time you want with each of them. Because of Pastry’s needs, he is almost always the one you spend time with. You feed Pastry before everyone else so you can spend the time getting ready with him next to your soul.

Commander doesn’t seem to mind as much, but you do notice he gives you sad looks when you pass him by to pick up Pastry. You noticed he started to use his wheelchair when you are in the apartment. You feel bad, but what can you do?

Warrior was quieter. You tried to convince yourself that it is because of what he went through, and not because you are too busy to spend time with him. You tried to make sure he gets some attention and ask how he is doing frequently, but he only smiles and tells you he is fine. 

Papy was a godsend. He spent most of his time with Warrior. You are pretty sure if it wasn’t for Papy, Warrior would have tried to run away again. As is, you feel bad that you haven’t gotten to know your new bitty, but you are glad he has stepped up to help out.

You wanted to make plans for this weekend but your boss has asked you to come in. Ask is generous, it was more of a “be there or get a write up”. So much for having time on the weekend.

\-----

It was Saturday. It was their day off. So why was the human getting up and getting ready? Commander groaned and rolled over to wrap his arms around Pastry, only to find he wasn’t there.

Great. They were feeding Pastry before they even got the other bitties up. That meant that they were leaving for their normal work schedule. He could feel his frustration rising. What happened to the park? What happened to ‘It’s going to be a beautiful day, let’s go somewhere nice’?

He huffed and curled up against the empty spot left by Pastry. He glanced over at Warrior and Papy, both sleeping peacefully. Warrior was slung over Papy’s middle, snoring softly. Papy had his arms on Warrior’s back.

Commander growled, irritated. Warrior was his brother. He knew more about Warrior than Papy ever could. He had protected Warrior way before Papy ever knew about him.

“Shit, I’m late!” The human said, rushing in the room. They pulled off their sleep clothes and traded them for work clothes. They set Pastry down on their bed and pulled on socks.

Commander sighed. Being late meant they would be eating cereal for breakfast. Even though the human bought him a healthier cereal, he still didn’t like it. He liked fresh fruit for breakfast. Plus, he would have to help Warrior eat. Like old times.

Suddenly, he was afraid. Was this the beginning of the end? Things had been ok at the first home he was taken to as well. Then it went downhill. It started small. Things he normally said or did didn’t make his first human smile. Then she would get busy. He would be on his own. Then… She got rid of him.

His eyelights widened. No. Not again, he couldn’t go through this again. His breathing picked up. His legs itched.

“Hu-” He started, only to be interrupted by them.

“Sorry guys, I gotta go! Cereal is in a bowl on the coffee table. Pastry is on the bed. Text me if you need anything!” And with that, they were gone. Commander was left shaking, digging his claws into the stubs where his legs used to be.

Not again.

Warrior stirred. “T-the hell? ‘S S-Saturday,” He mumbled. Papy was awake as well and sat up, pulling Warrior into a hug.

“WELL I GUESS WE WILL HAVE TIME TO FINISH OUR PUZZLE!” He said. Warrior giggled and pushed him off.

“Guess s-so.”

Commander hated how loud he was. The box was too closed in to use a voice that loud. He winced and scooted out onto the ramp that connected the bed to the nightstand where the box was. Pastry was awake and staring into the distance.

“How was breakfast?” He asked, scooting over to Pastry. Pasty didn’t say anything and swayed a bit. Commander sighed and poked his shoulder. “Breakfast. How was it?”

Pastry blinked and looked at him. “it was ok. oatmeal. don’t feel too good though.” He swallowed thickly. Commander frowned.

“Not enough soul time?” 

“dunno. don’t feel good.”

“What kind of not feeling good?”

“don’t feel good.”

“I get that you don’t feel good but what kind?”

“Nnnngh… not good.”

Commander gave a frustrated sigh. “Are you going to throw up? Are you in pain?” Pastry looked at him blankly. “What kind of not feeling good? I can’t help you if you don’t tell me what’s going on?”

Now it was Pastry’s turn to give a frustrated noise. “i don’t know!” He tugged at his empty socket, clearly agitated. “i don’t know, i feel bad, i don’t feel right, UGH!” He shoved away from Commander and walked to the other side of the bed, still tugging on his socket.

Commander decided not to follow him. It would take too much time and wear him out. He scooted to the elevator. Papy and Warrior were already on the ground when he got there. He pulled himself up into his wheelchair and grabbed onto the wheels.

“LET ME HELP!” Papy said cheerfully, grabbing the handles on the back. Commander was fast enough to avoid his fingers getting painfully yanked by the wheels as they started moving.   
“What the hell are you doing??” He turned around and glared at Papy. Papy didn’t seem to notice and kept pushing.

“HELPING YOU GET TO THE LIVING ROOM OF COURSE!”

“H-hey uhh P-papy, maybe d-don’t p-push his c-chair?” Warrior interjected nervously. “H-he won’t e-even l-let me p-push him.”

“I DON’T SEE WHY NOT. IT MUST BE TIRING TO USE YOUR ARMS ALL THE TIME!”

“Stop!” Commander growled. “I didn’t ask for your help and I don’t need your help so fuck off!”

Papy stopped walking and let go of the handles. He looked down at his feet like a kicked dog. “I just… Wanted you to like me…” He muttered.

“Well I don’t and I won’t. I think you know that by now,” Commander glared, turning his chair around. 

“W-what the f-fuck C-commander??” Warrior said. “H-he’s our f-family!”

“No, he’s _your_ family. You’re the one who wanted to replace me after your whole ‘woe is me, guess nobody loves me anymore’ stunt. I didn’t sign up for having this loud, obnoxious idiot around.”

“W-what?! A-are you f-fucking kidding m-me?!” Warrior threw his hands up in frustration. Papy edged away, trying to steady his breathing. “Y-you think I-I replaced y-you?!”

“You could have attached yourself to any other bitty in that place but you had to choose a fucking Papy, the exact opposite of me. He’s everything I’m not and you are not as opaque as you think you are!”

“A-and what a-about Pastry?!”

“What about him, Warrior?! Are you going to run away again because you think I replaced you with him?! Grow up!”

“H-how come y-you’re the only o-one who can f-feel r-replaced?!”

“Guys please don’t fight…” Papy whispered, tears flowing down his face. They didn’t seem to hear him.

“Because I’m not replacing you! I never have! Pastry is completely different from you, and you know it, but you are too selfish to see it!”

“S-selfish?!?”

“Yeah, you’re fucking selfish! You think we had fun here after you left? You think we just laughed it up that we got rid of a whiny Edgy who can’t even act like an Edgy?! No! The human couldn’t sleep for days, they ended up passing out from exhaustion! They looked everywhere for you! But no, nobody loves you or cares about you!”

“I-I almost D-DIED!” Warrior was shaking with anger.

“You did it to yourself! We were safe but you had to think of only yourself! And now you keep pretending everything is fine and _nothing is!_ ”

“P-please….” Papy backed himself against the wall, his hands going to either side of his face. He slid down and sat, trying to make himself as small as possible. The other two didn’t seem to notice.

“O-oh and why is t-that?! B-because I _replaced_ y-you? Is t-that how I-i’m pretending things are fine?!”

“No shit dumbass! Out of everyone, why did you have to attach yourself to him?! Pastry is at least as broken as we are, but Papy barely has scars! He’s not like us!”

“O-oh you mean not like y-you? D-does he have a _leg_ up on you? Y-you jealous because he c-can run faster than you? D-dance? Play f-football? W-wear shoes?” Warrior was leaning into his face, glaring. “O-or maybe it’s because he’s taller than you. I-I hear having a f-few inches taken off the b-bottom will d-do that to y-yo-”

Commander slammed his fist into Warrior’s face. “You think this is a joke!? I was protecting you! Or did you forget?!” He hit him again, then again, gripping his shirt with his other hand. “I was willing to die for you! I was willing to take any other punishment for you! I fed you, I took care of you, I gave up my fucking legs for you! It could have been you, but I made sure it was me because you were all I had left in that god forsaken place!” He stopped and let go of Warrior’s shirt. Warrior sank to his knees, staring up, stunned.

“Whatever. I’m done,” He said, turning away to try and hide his tears. He grabbed his wheels and pushed his chair as fast as he could out of the bedroom and into the bathroom. It took him a little bit of a struggle, but he managed to close the door. Only then did he allow himself to break down sobbing.

It was over. Everything was over. He never wanted to hurt Warrior. He never wanted to fight with him. His fear and insecurities had gotten control over him, and he wasn’t sure if Warrior would ever forgive him.


	19. The Way We Used To Be

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Trigger warning: reference to past abuse
> 
> Two uploads in one week? What is this, 2010 when I could write in long sessions without stopping?

When you came home from work, only Pastry was waiting for you. He was sitting on the table next to the bowl of untouched cereal. 

“i threw up on your bed,” He said, keeping his eyes down to the ground. His little legs dangled off the edge of the table. You set down your bag.

“Oh honey. Are you feeling ok?” You asked. He nodded, then shook his head after a second thought.

“i... i don’t know how i feel. hungry. i’m hungry again,” he pulled at his eyesocket in frustration. “i think i made things worse.”

“Worse? How so?” You asked, picking him up. You pushed his hand away from his eyesocket and he gripped your finger instead.

“They fought. partially because of me.”

“Who?” You asked. The apartment was deathly quiet. You could feel your fear rising.

“warrior and commander. i think i did something to make things worse. i can’t remember though…”

“Hey now, I don’t think you did. How about we look for them and see if we can’t fix this?” You put him on his spot on your shoulder. He nodded and buried his face in your hoodie. 

“commander’s in the bathroom,” he said from his spot. 

You opened the door to the bathroom and looked around. His wheelchair was next to the toilet, but he was not in it.

“Commander? You in here?” You asked gently. You walked over and found him, huddled up in the corner behind the trash can. “Commander…”

“Just go human,” He sounded exhausted. He wouldn’t look up. You sighed and sat down next to the toilet, wrapping your arms around your knees.

“Well what if I needed to pee?” You asked. “What then?”

“You don’t need to pee, you go before you leave work,” He said, scoffing a bit.

“Wow you know my pee schedule.”

“You’re very open about your bodily needs.”

“What about you? Not just your bodily needs.”

“.... I….” He gave a frustrated sigh. “What do you want me to say?”

“I don’t want you to say anything you don’t want to say, I just want to know what happened,” You looked at him. Fat tears rolled down his cheek. “Hey, are you ok?”

“I… I promised myself I would never hurt him… Promised I would always be there to protect him… But I…” He wiped at his eyes. You held your hand out to him and after a few moments of hesitation, he climbed up in it.

“How about we start from the beginning. Or close to the beginning,” You suggested. He looked down and scratched at his legs. The fabric was sticking to them but you stopped yourself from saying anything. That could wait. 

Commander sighed and scrunched his face in concentration. You almost asked him again, but he starts talking.

And he told you everything.

He told you about his time in the bitty store. He told you about his first owner. He told you about the man that hurt him, and all that was done to them. He told you about when they woke up on the side of the road and his first thought was to tell Warrior to go on without him, but Warrior wouldn’t accept that. He told you about the fear he gets constantly and the insecurities he has. He told you about how often he cried when Warrior was gone and nobody was around to see. He told you how alone he is feeling and how he feels like he’s getting abandoned all over again. He told you how useless he feels on a daily basis. He told you about the fight, and the shame and self loathing he feels for it. 

By the time he has finished talking, he’s a sobbing mess. You cradled him against your chest, trying to be strong for him. Pastry climbed down sometime while Commander was talking and nuzzled up against him. 

“I’m sorry, I didn’t know…” You whisper. 

“How could you? I never told anyone. I always have to be the strong one…” He hiccuped and wiped at his eyes. “Do… do you think less of me?”

“Oh honey, of course not. Never. I could never think less of you, especially now.”

“I used to be so sure of myself. I used to be strong. Now I can’t even watch Warrior with Papy without feeling like everything is over. I don’t want to be left alone. I don’t… I’m… I’m scared and I hate it. I was never scared before,” He sniffled.

“That’s the thing about trauma. It changes you. Sometimes for the better, sometimes for the worse,” You shrugged. “No matter what, things change. You can’t stop them from changing, you can only go with it. If things never changed, I wouldn’t have met you guys. I’m not who I was before I met you. I’m better.”

Pastry snorted. “hi better, i’m pastry.”

“I swear to god I’m taking away your internet rights for dad joking me,” You scolded him with a fake pouty face. He giggled and looked at Commander, his face serious.

“i would be dead without you. you literally saved me. you can’t tell me you’re not strong because you are afraid and unsure of yourself. i wanted to dust you and you didn’t even flinch. no matter what you think, you’re strong and you have worth.” He said, hands around Commander’s face to keep him from looking away.

Commander gave a soft laugh. “I knew you wanted to dust me. Honestly, I wanted peace and quiet and you were being loud and annoying. Then you got worse and I… I didn’t know you were hurting so bad. I just wanted to fix it, like I do with Warrior.”

“Well I for one think you’re an amazing bitty, and an even more amazing brother,” You said, kissing him on his head. “Do you want to go apologize now?”

Commander looked down at his hands. “I… do but… What if he doesn’t want to talk to me anymore?”

“I’ll lick him,” you said.

“W-what?” Commander was caught off guard, his eyesockets wide. Then, he started to laugh. “Why??”

“I dunno. Just seems like it would help?”

“How would that help??” He wheezed out between laughs.

“Let's find out!”

“Human, no!”

\-----

Warrior sniffled and rubbed at his eyes. Papy had him circled in the back corner of their box, his entire body shielding Warrior’s from the entrance of the box. He didn’t mean to fall asleep, but crying tended to tire him out. He stared at his hands, the missing digits taunting him.

_The whirling of the dremel tool, the sound of his own screaming_

He shut his eyesockets, trying to stop the memory.

_The feeling of the pressure of getting his hands and feet wrapped, the marrow being wiped from his face, Commander holding him_

He was such a jerk to Commander. He shouldn’t have yelled at him. He saw how stressed he was and he still pushed. Commander was falling apart at the seams and Warrior didn’t want to see it or acknowledge it.

_The sound of a thud, the sound of Commander screaming_

Warrior started to cry. He didn’t mean any of it. He didn’t mean to throw Commander’s trauma back in his face. He just wanted everyone to get along.

Papy hushed him and rubbed his back. Warrior flipped around and sobbed into his arms.

“I-I’m a h-h-horrible b-brother…” He muttered. 

“No, you’re just flawed. That doesn't make you horrible," Papy said. "If anything, it's my fault. I… just want to be liked."

"Y-you are, C-commander jus-" Warrior shut his mouth as he heard the human enter the room. This is it, he's going to get yelled at, maybe told to leave…

The human sighed and a few seconds later, he heard the sounds of the bedding being pulled off the bed.

"sorry," he heard Pastry mutter.

"Dude, don't apologise for getting sick. I'm more worried about you," the human said. "Are you feeling any better?"

"hungry."

"Well I'll start dinner here in a bit, hang on ok?" The human sat on the bed. It was quiet. Warrior curled up tighter, waiting.

"Can we talk guys?" The human finally said. Warrior flinched in Papy's arms.

"Whatever you want to do, I'll support you," Papy whispered. Warrior sighed. He might as well face the music now. He untangled himself from Papy and the blankets and walked out of the box, Papy in tow. 

The human was sitting on their striped down bed, smiling gently. Pastry was sitting on their shoulder, pulling at the strings on your hoodie. Warrior suppressed a giggle. The hole in the fabric was growing and you were sure to not be happy.

Commander was sitting on the other shoulder, staring down at his hands in his lap. He looked nervous, and he swallowed hard. 

"Sooooo… not a good day?" The human said. Warrior snorted. What an understatement. He sat down at the edge of the end table and Papy followed. 

"C-could have b-been b-better," he looked down at his legs. The silence suffocated him as he waited for you to scold him.

"I know it's been hard these last few weeks. I'm going to tell my boss I can't do any late shifts anymore. If he doesn't understand, I guess it's time to find a new job. I'm sorry, I should have been here for you guys and done better to make sure you were doing ok. My first priority is to you," the human said.

Warrior's head snapped up, eyelights wide with shock. Why were they apologising? It should have been him that was apologising. He was making things worse. 

Commander cleared his throat. "And I'm… I'm sorry too. I'm just… _scared_ all the time, especially after you ran off. I couldn't be there for you and I hate that I wasn't. I promised… when you were hurt…" His eyelights flicked to Warrior, then back down in shame. "I've never been good with feelings, especially my own. You know that."

Warrior gave a small smile. Yes, he did know that. Commander was horrible at saying how he felt. He would rather scowl and brood over it. Warrior touched a sore spot on his cheek. He hadn't really thought too much about Commander's feelings. He sighed and gestured to the human to be picked up.

The human set him on their shoulder next to Commander. Commander seemed suddenly very interested in the hem of his shirt. Warrior wiggled his way into his lap, wrapping him in the tightest hug he could manage.

"I-I could n-never replace you. Y-you mean so m-much to me. Y-yer opinion m-means so m-much to me," he sniffled. "I'm s-sorry. I… l-love you b-bro."

Commander sniffled a bit and held him back. Warrior sighed in his grip. It was like back in the beginning when they could only rely on each other. He missed this. Missed being held by Commander. They hadn't really hugged since before Pastry came into their lives.

"hungryyyyy," Pastry whined. 

"Alright, alright," the human said, helping Papy up on their head. "Want to help?"

"ABSOLUTELY!" He said, grinning. 

The human walked out of their room and into the kitchen. Outside, it began to snow.


	20. Compassion

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry about the delays updating. My new rescue is still going through a lot of issues and we have had to medicate her for her anxiety. And I'm lazy, but you know. Have a cute fluffy filler chapter.

"pancakes."

"Wha…" you replied, blinking the sleep from your eyes and stretching. Pastry was sitting on your pillow next to your face and poking your cheek with a small finger.

"pancakes," he said again. "for breakfast."

You groaned again and looked at the clock. It was only 6 am. "How did… huh?" You were too tired for this. You closed your eyes and dozed a bit. 

"pancakes." It was almost a whine now and he poked harder. You opened your eyes and stared at him.

"Bud, it's 6. I'm tired. Sleepy time. Wait a bit and wake me up later?" You asked. He nodded and you closed your eyes.

"pancakes."

"Ugggghhhh…." You opened your eyes again. 6:06 am. He grinned.

"it's later," he said. You patted him on the head.

"I see that."

\-----

You got the rest of them up a few minutes later. Papy helped you pick out clothes for everyone. You put them on your shoulders and head to the bathroom.

You ran warm water into the low sided container you used for their bath. A little bit of bubble bath was added, then you set it on its spot on the counter. Pastry and Warrior were busy stripping their clothes off and getting in the water, but Commander looked at you. 

“I um…” He looked sheepish. 

“Your pants are stuck to your legs, right?” You said. You didn’t have a chance to do anything about his legs last night. You ate and ended up passing out during soul time.

“Yeah…” He muttered. You smiled and helped him out of his shirt. His pants were stuck but after a few minutes of pulling, you were able to get them off without causing too much damage. 

He had scratched the ends of his legs open. Dried marrow and magic was what stuck the fabric of his pants to him. You had opened a few spots by peeling off his pants.

“Sorry, does it hurt?” You asked him. The wounds didn’t look too bad. You gently set him in the container. He shook his head. 

“No. I… I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to scratch that hard, they just itched and I…” He looked up at you. 

“Don’t worry about it. I know that accidents happen. Make sure they are really clean and I’ll see if I need to bandage them or something, ok?” You gave his back a rub. He sighed and leaned into it.

“They should be fine. Thank you though, human,” He hummed. His eyelights flicked over to where Papy was standing awkwardly, still dressed. “Is something wrong?”

“NO I DON’T… I don’t think I should after yesterday…” Papy mumbled. Warrior frowned and started to get out of the bath. Commander pushed him back down in the water. 

“Get in here. Yesterday was not your fault. I will not have you unwashed in our home,” Commander said. There was a bit of a staring contest, then Papy started getting undressed for the bath.

You smiled and started the shower before taking off your pjs. Commander was scary on the outside but was an absolute sweetheart inside and these little moments really showed how much he did care. 

You got in your shower after Papy got in the bath. You started putting shampoo in your hair when you heard a giggle and some splashing. You smirked and shook your head. The splashing continued.

“Boys, if I have to get out of this shower, I’m grounding all of you,” You called out. You heard another giggle and a wet smacking sound, followed by a NYEH. You laughed too. “Everything ok out there?”

“Yes, Warrior is just being Warrior,” You heard Commander call back. 

“W-Whats that m-mean?” Warrior squeaked. You heard another wet smacking sound. 

“You know what that means!” Commander laughed a bit.

“Do you guys need me to come out?” You asked. You were almost done with your shower anyway, but you didn’t want to rush.

“nah, it’s all good,” Pastry said. “just a washcloth battle. we having pancakes for breakfast?”

You laughed more. “Yes Pastry, we are having pancakes for breakfast.” You shut off the water and got out, wrapping a towel around yourself.

Your bitties had splashed quite a lot of water on the counter, but you just smiled and wiped it up. Papy and Pastry were already out and were helping the other two out. You kept an eye on them as you dressed in a sweater and loose jeans. Pastry and Warrior pulled on footed PJs, while Commander put on a sweater and some black pants. 

“Do… Do you need help?” Papy asked shyly. He was already dressed in his long sleeved shirt and pants. Commander stared at him for a moment, then sighed.

“Fine. Help me with the snaps,” He said, arms folded. Papy’s face lit up and he knelt down, snapping Commander’s sweater to his pants. You gave Commander a knowing wink and his skull flushed red. 

“Alright, everyone’s dressed. Papy, you’re helping me with breakfast, right?” You asked as you helped everyone on your shoulders.

“we’re having pancakes,” Pastry said.

“Ugh, do we have to?” Commander pouted. You patted his head.

“I’ll make you something else, ok?” You said.

“YES I’LL HEL- I mean I’ll help,” Papy said. 

“Would you just stop trying to be quieter? We all know that isn’t you,” Commander scowled at him. Papy shrunk from the look.

“I… I’m sorry, I just-” He started.

“Commander has no tact, but he’s right. This is a safe space,” You said, smiling. “I want you to be yourself. You’re safe to be you.”

“Y-yeah, it’s s-safe h-here,” Warrior said, grinning at Papy as you set them all on the kitchen counter. “E-even Commander is n-nice.” 

“paaaaancaaaakes,” Pastry whined and flopped over. You laughed and started cooking.

\-----

After breakfast, you sat on your couch, watching the snow fall. Pastry was cuddled into your chest and asleep, a happy smile on his face. He had eaten quite a lot. Warrior was on your head and most likely asleep. Commander was in his usual spot on your shoulder. Papy was sitting in the window seal, looking out at the snow.

“Human?” Commander whispered to you. You hummed in acknowledgement and glanced at him. “He needs a name.”

“I thought you would never ask,” You whispered back, smiling.

“He feels like he’s not a part of the family. I can tell. Part of that is my fault, but…” He sighed. “I want to make it better.” He frowned.

“Well what should his name be?”

“I… I don’t know. Do you have any ideas?” He shifted on your shoulder to face you.

“Uhhh… Puzzle?” You asked. He rolled his eyelights and shook his head. 

“It needs to _mean_ something. Something that will tell him that he’s one of us and he matters too. No offence, but looking around the room for objects is the stupidest way to name anyone,” He scowled.

“Hey, just think, you name could have been TV. Still could be,” You stuck your tongue out. He rolled his eyelights again.

“Of all the humans…” He muttered. You reached up and rubbed his back. He leaned into it and sighed, his eyesockets closed. You all sat in silence for a few minutes.

“How about Love?” You asked. 

“Love? Mmm… Is it too simple?” He replied, opening his eyesockets.

“I mean. Kind of? I don’t know, I suck at names.”

“Compassion. Passion or Pass for short,” he said. He looked over at Papy who was interested in something outside. “I think that fits him.”

“It’s perfect,” You smiled and raised your voice. “Papy, can you come here for a second?” 

His head snapped up and he jumped down onto the couch, rubbing his hands together nervously. “Did I do something wrong?” He asked. 

“No, you didn’t do anything wrong. We were talking and we think it’s time you get a name,” You said. 

“A… A NAME?? I GET A NAME?” He was almost crying, his eyes sparkling with joy. You giggled at his reaction.

“Yes, a name. We settled on Compassion,” Commander said. He motioned to you to let him down, and you did, setting him on the couch next to Papy. “Welcome to the family brother.” 

Papy couldn’t contain himself, and burst into tears. He wrapped Commander in a tight hug. Commander wheezed a bit at the strength of the contact, but sighed and patted his shoulder. 

“THANK YOU THANK YOU THANKYOUTHANKYOU!”

“we finally name him?” Pastry said from your chest. You smiled and nodded. “bout time.”

You spent the next few hours cuddling and enjoying the quiet. You drank some hot cocoa and dozed a bit, your bitties cuddling you. It was a nice morning.

In the afternoon, you went out on your back deck and let the boys play in the snow. Compassion and Commander had never been out in the snow and were excited to play. Warrior cuddled into your neck but was smiling at their antics. Pastry looked concerned.

“What’s up bud?” You asked. He looked at you from your arms. 

“i dunno. i just…” His brow furrowed with concentration. “i don’t like snow.”

“Did you remember something?” You asked. “Do you want to go in?”

“no. i just have this feeling of being cold and alone,” he burrowed into your sweater more. “its ok, i want to see them play.” 

Compassion was rolling snowballs for snowmen with Commander instructing him. Soon, there were 4 small snowmen and one bigger snowman, made as tall as Compassion could manage. You went in and grabbed a few buttons that you had lying around, then handed them to Compassion. 

Snowmen done, you took them all in to warm back up. You wrapped them in a blanket with their heating pad under them, and started working on your chores. Several times you came over to check on them, only to find Compassion and Commander talking to each other with Pastry and Warrior asleep on top of each other.

You were folding laundry in your room when your phone rang. 

“Hello?” You said, using your shoulder to hold it as you put some clothes away.

“Hi, I was wondering if you would be able to come in early tomorrow?” It was your boss’s voice. You sighed.

“I can’t really work any extra hours anymore. That includes tomorrow,” You said. 

“Oh. Well. Thanks anyway,” He said, then hung up. At least that was taken care of. You smiled and folded more bitty clothes, feeling good about everything for once.


	21. A Glimpse of the Past

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Holy shit I live! Been dealing with health issues and all that.
> 
> Also my rescue dog is doing GREAT! she's so silly! We went back to the shelter and got her son so now I have 6 dogs and lots of licks and love. 
> 
> Also shout out to calcium-cat! Go read their fic if you haven't already. It's so wonderful and amazing!

“I want to do something nice for Warrior,” You said, folding a bath towel. It was a few weeks since Commander and Warrior's fight and things were calm. Commander hummed to you, picking up one of the few pairs of pants that Pastry owned and folding it.

“What were you thinking about doing?” He asked, setting the folded pair on the pile he had started for Pastry. 

“I don’t know, I was wondering if you had any ideas,” You said. “Something he would really like. Maybe more mustard?”

Commander snorted. “He has enough mustard. He eats so much of it that he is starting to smell up our home. Which reminds me, no more spicy mustard at dinner. It gives him horrible smelling burps.”

You stifled a loud laugh. “Ok, I can do that. So what else does he like?” 

“Sleeping? He’s never been really active. Horror movies. I… I don’t really know about him any more than you do,” He said, looking at his hands. “I never got to know him before… Before the accident, and after the accident he was completely different.”

You sat down on your bed next to the pile of laundry. “Different how?”

“Docile. He slept a lot. I figured it was because he was trying to heal, but even now he sleeps a lot more than he used to. I don’t think it’s bad, but I do worry about him,” Commander frowned. “I never really know what he’s thinking or feeling and after he ran away, I’m afraid he’s not doing well mentally.”

It was strange to have Commander talking to you so openly. You smiled and brushed your fingers against his back. “Well let's figure out something nice to do for him and see if that brings him out of his shell. I'll do some research and you can see if he has anything else he likes to do. Deal?"

"Deal," Commander smiled. He closed his eyes and hummed. You pulled your hand back a bit but he stopped you. "Don't."

"Hmm?" You asked. 

"Keep rubbing," he leaned into your hand, the shirt he was folding long forgotten in his hands. 

"Alright, I can do that," you said. Eventually, you got back to folding your laundry, but not before Commander fell asleep due to your touch.

\-----

You came up with a devilish plan that you hoped would mean the world to Warrior. You ran it by Commander, and while he warned you of the issues it might cause, gave you his blessing to follow through. So, on Friday, you stopped by the thrift store and picked up the needed supplies.

You left your purchases in your car and went to your apartment door. Just as you were about to unlock the door, you heard Compassion speak.

"DO YOU WANT TO GO FASTER?" He asked, a giggle barely contained. You heard Commander's deep chuckle. 

"Yes, as fast as you can go," he said. Pastry snorted and you heard the _patpatpat_ of small feet run across the floor.

You opened the door and stepped in. Compassion had Commander's wheelchair handles and was racing it down the hall to your bedroom. You grinned.

"So uh, what's going on?" You asked. Pastry shifted from the blanket on the couch, unable to get far because Warrior's arms were wrapped around his waist. Warrior was dead asleep, little snores coming from where he had his head buried into Pastry's side.

"pass was restless and mander thought of a _fast_ solution," Pastry said, winking at you. You rolled your eyes at the pun. Compassion ran down the hall, stopping in front of you panting.

"Well I take it you want to go outside tomorrow," you said. He smiled and nodded. 

"Human," Commander said. You looked at him. He held his arms up. You got on your knees and kissed him on his skull.

"Sorry little tyrant, I gotta do something. Warrior is asleep so now is the best time," you smiled and gave him a knowing smile.

"Fine, but I want to be held once everything is set up and during dinner," he hugged, crossing his arms and looking to the side, his face flushing lightly.

"Of course, anything for you," you said, getting up off the floor. Compassion wheeled Commander over to the couch and onto the homemade elevator, pulling both of them on the couch.

They watched as you pulled your small dining table away from the wall and emptied it of everything on it. You rarely ate at it, so it really was just a glorified mail and junk holder. You grabbed a couple large trash bags and laid them out. Finally, you got the broom and trash can ready.

"Ok, I'm going to go get everything, make sure he stays asleep," you said. Pastry did a mock solute and tucked the blanket around Warrior more. You headed out and grabbed the bags from your car, then came back in.

On the table, you set out the spread of breakable goodies. Delicate figures, snow globes, china, cups, and mugs soon filled the table. It had barely cost you $20 and you were ready for the absolute disaster it was going to be. You even managed to pick up a few cassette tapes. 

"Alright. Everything is ready," you said, proud of yourself. Compassion looked at the table with confusion.

"WHY IS THE TABLE SET UP LIKE THAT HUMAN?" He asked. Pastry snickered and started poking at Warrior.

"We wanted to do something nice for Warrior. His type is typically destructive but he hasn't been able to destroy anything for a minute so we figured it would be nice for him to be able to be destructive in a healthy way. I don't care about anything I bought and he can destroy them without feeling bad," you explained. 

"I still think you are going to cause more problems," Commander said. "I hope you realize you are opening a can of worms."

"Eh, he can break my shit, I don't care. I love him too much to get mad about things."

"s-sap," Warrior muttered. He stared at you with hazy eyelights, letting go of Pastry to yawn and stretch. "w-what's up?"

"Got you a surprise when you wake up," you said, sitting next to him on the couch. He hummed and rubbed at his eyesockets. After a few minutes, he finally got up and walked to you. You picked them all up and helped them to your shoulders, then walked to the table.

"Surprise!" You said, gesturing with jazz hands. 

"W...what am I l-lookin' at?" Warrior said. You helped him into your hand and set him in the center of the table.

"The human and I figured you needed some stress relief and despite my warnings, they figured the best way would be to let you make a mess," Commander grimaced but waved his hand dismissively. "Have fun."

Warrior blinked a few times and looked around at the table. The room was silent and for a minute you thought you offended him. He stared at the items, then at you, and finally down at his feet. You were about to say something when he finally looked back up, a smirk on his face. 

Then, the destruction began. The mug was shoved off of the table and hit the ground with a satisfying _crash_ , shattering into pieces. He looked up at you to see if you were mad, but your grin seemed to end any of his questions. More cups were sent to the floor along with one of the figurines. His face was bright and he was grinning, running from object to object to shove them to the side of the table and send them cascading down.

Then, he teleported, appearing at the cassettes. His little hands pulled at the tape, yanking it out all the way before throwing it off the side and grabbing another. 

By now, your jaw had closed from the surprise of seeing him teleport. You glanced at Commander and even he seemed surprised. You cleared your throat.

"Uhh Warrior, what was that? Did you just teleport?" You said. He froze, half the cassette tape in his hand. "It's not bad, I promise I'm not mad at you or anything, I'm just… I didn't think you could do that."

He blinked once. Then he stood up, dropping the cassette. His face was blank. You were starting to worry about him.

"Bud?"

Then he teleported again, this time to your counter.

" _I can fuckin' teleport!_ " He screamed, his face flushed with excitement. He teleported a few more times before landing on the table again, breathing heavy but with the biggest genuine smile you'd ever seen on his face. "Fuck yeah!" He kicked off a snow globe, sending shards of glass and liquid everywhere.

"I… could you do that before?" You asked, still in awe. 

"B-before before, not after w-we got hurt," he said. Another figurine met its demise and he went back to finish the cassette. "Thought I couldn't a-anymore. Bro, I can fuckin' teleport!" He blipped to Commander's side on your shoulder.

"Yes you can," Commander said, patting him on his shoulder. "Now go back to making a mess."

With another blip, he was gone and on the table, destroying the rest of the items. You grinned at Commander with your best 'I told you so' look. He grumbled and rolled his eyes, but he couldn't hide his smile. 

After all the items were on the ground in pieces, Warrior flopped down on his back, huffing. You set the rest of the bitties on the table and got to cleaning, using the bags to gather most of the mess and shake it off into the trash, then sweeping the rest of the floor. 

Pastry flopped across Warrior's stomach, causing him to let out a soft _oof._

"Hey Pastry," Commander said. 

"yea?"

"I was wondering if you could teleport too. You are both Sansy bitties. The ones at the center I was at could teleport," he said. "Or are you unable to since your injury?"

"i dunno, haven't tried," Pastry said, closing his sockets. He let out a soft grunt and disappeared from on top of Warrior, only to appear an inch away and about a foot in the air. He fell flat on his stomach and let his head thump against the table.

"ARE YOU OK?" Compassion asked, rushing over. You stopped your cleaning to see what was wrong, ready to grab the first aid kit. Pastry gave a thumbs up, but didn't move from his spot.

Warrior started cackling. "W-where were you tryin' to go?" 

"couch."

The cackling got worse and he managed to choke out "well you fuckin' f-failed that!" before Commander smacked his skull. It didn't do anything to stop the laughter and instead made him laugh harder. 

"I warned you," Commander said to you. "He's going to be insufferable now." But he was smiling all the same, a soft loving look on his face.

\-----

You slid the bookmark in at the end of the chapter and closed the book. The bitties were already asleep on your chest. Compassion had his arms wrapped around Commander. Warrior was slung over their legs, his little chest rising and falling with each snore. Pastry had decided early into soul time that he wanted to be on your neck. He was still there, tucked up under your chin. 

It was wonderful. Your life was amazing. These little creatures never failed to make you smile. You wished things could stay like this forever. 

You reached over and turned off your lamp and pulled the blankets up over you and the bitties. If they woke up they would migrate to their box, but for the most part if they passed out on you, they stayed. You were still worried about rolling on them and squishing them, but so far it hadn't happened yet. 

You sighed and closed your eyes. Life was great and you didn't want it to change.


End file.
